Poking a Sleeping Dragon
by ScantronGrl
Summary: It started out as a heated encounter one fateful night, followed by a rescue mission of a fellow guild member. Through harrowing adventures Natsu and Lucy will find the very limits of how far their relationship will go and how much they are willing to sacrifice for one another. Will Earthland be left in shambles? WARNING: Lemons abound with a touch of humor. One shot exploded.
1. Chapter 1

WARNING: This first chapter is pure smut. You've been warned.** Is possible to skip first chapter or simply read as a one-shot.**

A/N: Just to clarify... This is NaLu despite him saying Lisanna's name! He has **no **romantic tendencies towards Lisanna, just some **highly** undeveloped feelings towards Lucy, and a **very **misguided understanding of sex in a romantic sense.

Picking apart the inner workings of Natsu's brain is no friggin' walk in the park. He basically shows the same degree of love and dedication to all of his nakama and even complete strangers. Being able to incorporate an actual romantic aspect can be somewhat difficult if you went by how Hiro Mashima has set it up. I was intrigued and thought I'd take a shot at the challenge with Lucy.

**Please R&R!**

DISCLAIMER: It's all Mashima's doing.

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The sound of gentle snores filled the room, echoing off of the small bedroom's walls, filling the corners and spilling into the silent nooks and crannies. The corner of Lucy's mouth quirked upward as it fell open into a small 'O'. It was an odd expression and one in which her partner would have liked to examine had he not been in the middle of his own dream world. She barely made a ruckus anymore when she woke to find the man curled up like a lost boy on the edge of her bed. His habit had burrowed its way into her routine and it was as natural as brushing her teeth in the morning. Happy came too but some nights he simply found other places to frequent, like Wendy's quarters. Charle and Wendy shared a dorm room and it happened more often than not that while attempting to spend more time with his female counterpart he would get locked in the dorms after hours. No one was to enter or leave when the lights went out. Tonight was presumably one of those nights as the little blue cat was nowhere to be found.

Natsu comfortably rested his head near the edge of the bed, pressing his broad back lightly against Lucy's arm. The latter rolled closer, wrapping her arm around her muscular body pillow. Her eyes ran circles behind her eyelids as she rocked her hips slightly. Somewhere, deep in the subconscious of Lucy Heartphilia, she was embracing a man without a face or voice, and she was loving it. Have you ever had a dream so fuzzy and vague that you can't tell up from down, but there lingers such an overpowering emotion and atmosphere that you find details aren't necessary? Propriety, guilt, and reasoning are thrown to the wind. Lucy was living in that moment and nursing her growing need for satisfaction.

Natsu groaned in his sleep as he rolled back around, his nose attempting to root out the source of that delicious smell. It was intoxicating and even in his deep slumber he found it irresistible. It evoked reactions from his body that he hadn't seen in quite honestly longer than most men would be willing to admit. Perhaps that's why Lisanna popped into his mind's eye.

Let's face it, Natsu was a guy and they all have urges at one point or another. Given little guidance in how to handle these situations in tandem with his history with Lisanna, she had become the natural embodiment or representative, if you will, of what Natsu assumed he needed to think of in these moments. Though over time he found her less appropriate to fit the role and had stopped his personal fulfillment all together. Even though these urges to masturbate only rarely made themselves known, Lisanna always seemed to end up being his go-to image intentional or not. It was confounding and one garbled mess that gave him a headache if he ever allowed himself to stop and think about it, which was inevitably not often.

Lucy... Well he didn't know what to make of it. She was Lisanna and more. She went beyond the physical need to satisfy himself and existed on a plain he created just for her. To him, putting her in that same category as Lisanna was just too bizarre and just down right sacrilegious so ultimately she didn't really make an appearance in his most heated moments. Oh she was pretty and nice to look at it, but his mind seemed to put a block beyond that, as if too afraid to develop the thought floating around in the far reaches of his brain. But to be honest, thinking of these things in detail wasn't something the fire dragon slayer attempted to do if at all. It was just an inherent gut feeling, difficult to explain to himself much less an outsider. If he was barely able to wrap his head around it how could he expect someone else to get it? No one ever really made clear to him that orgasms and love are not two entirely separate entities, but necessities in a successful romantic relationship.

All of that aside this aroma floating in the air was triggering something in his body, producing familiar feelings and physical reactions but there was something so unbearably different in the same breathe. Natsu continued on in his now-heated dreams as his arm instinctively snaked around his partners waist, pulling her closer. Emitting a soft hum of pleasure she responded by running her fingers lazily along his arm; the limb automatically tightened and the scent became headier. A soft head of blond hair nuzzled its way under his chin as their breathing slowly became heavier. Hands grew lives and wandered freely, bodies were completely running on instinct. Natsu's lips somehow managed to find that sweet junction where Lucy's shoulder met her neck and very lazily he ran his tongue around in a small circle before topping it off with an open-mouthed kiss. Lucy purred in her sleep, feeling impressed with the faceless man's move. She reached for him wanting to feel him pressed between her legs. Slowly, she wrapped one leg around his waist and pulled him closer to her heat. Finally the mystery man groaned and there was the first moment of recognition, but she forced it down, enjoying herself far more than any of her other dreams. The both of them writhed against one another playing out a primal dance that required little direction.

Natsu's dream world was in chaos. This was new. He never felt this kind of hunger before. The smell had transformed itself into a persistent drum beat, beckoning him to find and claim it. It was on such a deeper level of desire that everything he had felt up until that moment paled into a ghostly reflection.

The blurry outline of Lisanna began to touch him more boldly in ways his imagination never could have thought up on his own. She had never actually touched him before believe it or not, only as someone to look at but not touch. Natsu's lack of experience didn't really permit him to see her in the positions he heard about in the lewd discussions at the guild and he never was overly interested in spending the extra effort to find out. All he knew was that a female needed to be involved with the process. Not long after Lucy appeared, a bridge of understanding started to take shape albeit at an incredibly slow pace. Fate was getting impatient with Natsu's density.

Instincts grasped the reins, pulling on his strings as though he were a marionette. With a swiftness only a dragon slayer could muster in sleep, Natsu flung his partner under him and proceeded to roll his hips against hers, pressing into her, trying to answer a call he couldn't quite fathom in this state.

It was finally then that Lucy left behind her dream world and sleepily started to fill in the mystery man's features. The moment was prolonged as he leaned down, his face hidden, to suckle her through her pajama top. The damn thing was too thick, she conceded as her brain stalled further comprehension of the man hovering over her. Her fingers threaded through his hair, holding him tightly to her as the pulsing warmth began to spread. She looked down with half-lidded eyes only to have them widen in recognition. Another wave of pleasure hit her at that very moment as his hand managed to access her shorts. He cupped her through her panties, trying to gain admittance. His head groggily lifted in frustration.

Natsu's face looked nothing like she had ever seen before, his eyes were closed as his brow was subtly knit together in intense concentration. The jaw tightened and loosened reflexively, dancing to an unheard rhythm. Gone were the mischievous grins and goofy faces, all that remained was an intensity that Lucy only recalled seeing in battle. His hands worked as those of an amateur, not always sure where to grab or with how much force, but it was backed by such desire and need that Lucy barely took note of his sleepy eyes, now half open and looking through her.

Natsu Dragneel was asleep and quite effectively making love to her.

All she could do in her own sleepy state was go along with it and ride one wave of pleasure after another as he hungrily nibbled his way down her neck, gently prodding her below, seeking out her entrance again. His hands had somehow managed to discard his pants as the shear heat from him pressed demandingly against hers. Lucy's head fell to the side, gasping for air as the room began to feel like the inside of a furnace. Her own needs were screaming to be met. Finally, she conceded to his silent request and hesitantly pulled her shorts and panties to the side and opened up wider, guiding him home. Lucy flinched but was grateful her barrier had already been broken from her excessive horseback riding when she was younger. Her mind went blank as he filled her roughly and with such force she was having difficulty finding her air. Never had she felt so stretched and filled before, it was an incredibly intimate connection, one that took her breath away. As Natsu finally found what his body sought out, one name rolled from his lips as the blindfold of sleep began to fall away from his eyes.

"Lisanna."

Lucy froze, paralyzed with mortification. It was as if someone had dropped her into a giant tub of water. The remnants of sleep had all but vanished.

"Natsu..." Her voice called him to her, pleading with him that she had misheard. For his part it took much longer for Natsu to become lucid enough to grasp the situation he was in. Pleasure coursed through him as his eyes began to focus on its heavenly source. He saw her. He smiled. He paused. Then he saw her large eyes and trembling lips, tears barely even visible. It hit him like a silent train. The last word he had said in his half-conscious state and his beautiful partner beneath him. He felt his heart drop in his chest knocking its away around his rib cage. What had he done? How did this happen? And Fate laughed at him.

Lucy saw his face fall and panic take over, guilt and disbelief were continually being exchanged one for the other. She was sure her own pained expression mirrored his and all she wanted to do was curl into a ball with his arms around her. She noticed he had suddenly gone lax and another stab went straight for her pride.

He was horrified. Not that it was Lucy beneath him, in fact he loved that part, but this situation was completely outside his perception of his relationship with her. It was literally uncharted territory and it was as if the strings that had carried him here suddenly were cut and he woke to find himself stranded. He literally had no clue what he was doing and what to do next. How could a guy stay active with that weighing him down?And to top it all off, he had unwittingly thrown Lisanna's name into the mix. He groaned as he pulled away, desperately trying to find the fastest exit, seeing as there was no other option.

Lucy could physically feel Natsu was slipping away from her and it was probably the fastest she had ever processed a situation in her entire life. Let's break it down. In her mind it was a high speed race: _We just had sleep sex (sort of). He just said Lisanna's name. Does he love her? No, that's not what his face read. He's running! Process faster! I'm PISSED. But I care for him, maybe love... Pause for longer time to process... Continue. If he gets out that door, I will probably never see him again, especially with that speed... Wow, look at how fast he's moving! Refocus. Unacceptable. I won't allow it. This.. Whatever this is, is not over! Anger and indignation then realization. I still want him_. Natsu glanced at her hotly as he almost lost his balance in the dark. _And from the looks of it he still wants me too. Quick rush of heat. Lisanna aside, someone is going to pay and he's making the world's fastest getaway. Processing complete_. Natsu finally twisted his legs into his pant legs, hopping around on one foot and lunging simultaneously for the door.

"Hold it right there!" his hand froze just as it was reaching for the knob. Slowly he turned his head, fear radiating as his eyes widened. Her head was bowed and she knelt still on the bed, fists clenched in her lap.

"Where do you think you're going?" he started to answer but quickly saw this was a rhetorical question and clamped his mouth shut with a snap. Her voice was low and annunciating every word. "Take some responsibility for what you just did." Natsu frowned. He was completely lost as guilt wracked his body. "You just took my first time and leave right in the middle?" Slowly she placed one foot on the floor and then the other. She let the tension build as she approached the frozen dragon slayer. Gently, but firmly, she took hold of his extended wrist and pulled it away from the knob.

"Be a man and finish what you started," she ground out as she launched at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. It was a kiss of anger and hurt and Natsu took it all in. His eyes widened with surprise with his hands hanging limply to his sides. This turn of events was baffling, and his previous anxiety was continuing to reign supreme. Lucy sensed his hesitance and pulled back. Examining his face in what little light was available she didn't see disgust or resistance, but an expression of pained nervousness. Below she felt their bodies pressed together and something was noticeably still missing. She felt a new wave of stubbornness as she felt her confidence temporarily falter. No, she was going to take her own advice and finish what she started. She never would have made this gamble had she thought he didn't have any latent feelings for her as well.

Gently pushing him backwards against the door he had only moments before tried to flee through, she locked eyes with him as she slowly lowered herself to her knees and began to grapple with his newly acquired pants. Natsu's eyes widened and was about to protest only to stop as she raised an eyebrow. What in the gods' names was she going to do? Lucy knew enough from what she gleaned at the guild about the size and mechanics of a man's organ but seeing it in person gave her pause. She felt Natsu staring at her in embarrassment while he twitched slightly as her breathe hit him. Well at least he wasn't running... yet. A blush crawled up both of their cheeks as she swallowed her fear and slowly took him into her mouth. Natsu's own fell open as a silent groan seemed to come out. His eyes slid shut as his hands automatically gently cradled either sides of Lucy's head. It was a feather touch, afraid she would stop if he pressed too hard.

A jolt of confidence ran through her as she felt him tense and finally reach full attention. The newfound power she held over this dragon slayer made her even more daring, wrapping her tongue around the tip he let out a guttural sound. She could feel his legs shake as he pressed his backside against the door and lean forward to grope at her back and shoulders. She increased the speed of the strokes of her tongue and mouth. Natsu no longer sensed she would stop and firmly grabbed hold of her and started gyrating his hips. He straightened his back a little to allow his head to fall back against the door with a small thud. He licked his now-chapped lips as a fine sheen of sweat started to appear on his upper lip, his eyes screwed tightly shut. Oh gods don't let her stop. He never knew it could be like this. He always thought it was an exaggeration or a joke when the guys made such dirty comments but this... This was no joke!

He felt a growing wave on the horizon and it was swiftly approaching. His physical hunger reached new peaks as the tsunami came closer. Suddenly, Lucy pulled away. She too felt his tension rising and was unsure of how to proceed. Was she supposed to keep going? What was supposed to happen now. She barely had time to think it through as Natsu swept her off into the mattress and sea of blankets. She couldn't even see his face as he devoured her lips and at that moment she realized she had poked a sleeping dragon.

Clothes were discarded in record speed, one article after another became a decoration in the small bedroom until there were none left to throw. He lapped at her nipple, tugging with a hidden urgency. She tangled her fingers into his oddly colored hair pulling him closer. Lucy would lift her head as if listening to something only to let it fall swiftly back onto the bed.

"Natsu..." he pulled away and mumbled something about it being his turn. Skipping past her belly and straight to her entrance he stopped. How the hell was he supposed to do this? He glanced up nervously to see if Lucy noticed. She smiled encouragingly despite her first time anxiety as he hesitantly kissed her. She moaned and he felt cheered. With more purpose he kissed harder, opening his mouth to let his tongue copy what he had felt from her. Her body jerked and he pulled away afraid he had done something wrong but her legs wrapped around his shoulders, preventing him from moving further. Two hands came from above him and guided him back.

"It feels wonderful. Don't stop, Natsu," she croaked out. He was only too willing to oblige. Within minutes he had her soaring high to the top of a mountain and at the very precipice, he stopped to stare at her. She was near frantic with passion.

"Lucy, I want to...," he attempted to put into words what he felt and what he craved. In answer he was shoved backwards, nearly hitting his head on the bed post at the foot of the bed. Above him sat an angel. A halo seemed to erupt all around his vision as she lowered herself onto him.

"Aaaah, Lucy!" A small smile made its way onto her lips as they whispered, "Thats better." painstakingly slow she rose up on her knees, nearly pulling away all together before slamming back down on him. "Say my name again, Natsu," she pleaded. Their eyes connected and Natsu felt his redemption flow back into him as he lovingly whispered her name. "Louder," she demanded quietly as she rocked her hips gently. The sound of their bodies rubbing together made the air even headier.

"Lucy."

"Again..." she braced her hands against his chest as she picked up speed. He quickly acquiesced. If this was his punishment for earlier he would take it a million times over. She panted heavily as their bodies grew slick. Feeling his own rhythm beginning to form, Natsu sat up on an elbow and grabbed hold of her hip. He attempted to lunge into her that way but found gravity to be his nemesis. Falling back down he grabbed both of Lucy's hips firmly and rolled her under him. She let out a small surprised shriek as he buried himself as far as he could into her warm depths. His toes splayed against the mattress as he tried to gain some traction. He couldn't seem to get close enough to her and it was this that drove him over the edge as he began to pound into her rapidly. Their grunts and moans mingled indiscriminately in the air as they both sprinted the last leg of their journey, fighting to keep up with a silent beat. They were two amateurs struggling to find their nirvana, and whatever they were doing, it was working. Finally, they reached the precipice as a warm feeling seemed to rush through them running its way up their spines and cascading over the top of their heads.

In the wake of their orgasms they were left completely drained as Natsu collapsed on top of Lucy. He gasped for air as did she for it seemed a lifetime. All one could hear was an occasional rustling of blankets and calming attempts at inhaling and exhaling. Suddenly Natsu began to chuckle quietly in between breathes.

"What's so funny?" asked Lucy some of her previous insecurity coming back as she tried to get a better look at him despite most of his face being buried in the blankets. His weight on her felt good.

"So that was what all the fuss was about," he gasped with a big grin. It took a moment for what he said to register and once it did she couldn't help but smile a little as well.

"Was it what you expected?" Natsu's demeanor sobered slightly as he ran his fingers along her arm.

"I didn't know what to expect." He leaned up to hover over her as his gaze raked over her exposed torso. She blushed and was about to blurt something unladylike at him when she froze. She felt his semi twitch still inside her.

"Natsu?" he grinned and shrugged as though he couldn't help it only to roll and adjust his hips. She felt it rub tantalizingly against her inner most sensitive spot. Natsu frowned gently not sure where this reaction was coming from. Experimentally he ever so slightly shifted his position, emitting a groan from the stellar mage. Her hands clasped his shoulders.

Going with the flow, Natsu pushed in as far as he could, rubbing his pelvis against her.

"No, stop Natsu, I can't. Not again..." An impish grin formed across his lips. To be honest he was exhausted as well but he'd never seen Lucy so wanton and vulnerable and a strange pride shot up in him knowing he was the only one to put her in this state.

"I beg to differ. I think you can do it again." He leaned in and whispered into her ear with a low rumble. "And again. " He nudged her eliciting another choked off moan. "And again..." He felt himself growing harder and he was in wonderment. If he ever came before it was only once and it hadn't left this satisfied glow afterwards. He'd never done it more than once, he'd never had a reason to. Looking at Lucy's flushed face and swollen lips, he found his reason.

With this new discovery, he felt a drive and excitement he only seemed to feel right before a battle. Gently but firmly he pulled out and turned Lucy on her side and spooned her from behind. She gave him a questioning look as he lifted her upper leg, pulling the knee to her chest and proceeded to enter her from behind. Eavesdropping on bawdy conversations at the guild was starting to pay off, Natsu thought thankfully. She gasped. Natsu directed her hand to hold her knee in place as he used his now free hand to examine where they were joined. He slowly cupped her as he did before while moving slowly in and out. Lucy's voice began to grow in volume as she felt the pressure start to rise again. Natsu pressed his forearm against her belly to hold her tightly against his body. The other arm snaked under to pillow her head. Not far in, Natsu began to acknowledge they were making a lot of noise, most definitely enough for some poor neighbor to overhear. A possessiveness seized him. No one was allowed to hear Lucy's voice like this. No one. He clamped his hand over her mouth and rolled them onto their stomachs without losing their connection. His weight was pushing her down further but he consciously attempted to give her enough room to breath as he proceeded to take her from behind. It felt so incredible. Her legs were squeezed shut as he found his way back in every time.

Lucy's mind was blown. Twice?! Two times in a row! At this rate she felt like she might fall apart at the seams but she would go with a huge goofy smile on her face, that was for sure. She jackknifed her body a little giving Natsu better access. He grunted at the new change in angle and nearly lost his grip over her mouth. His other hand paused in its administrations. Lucy found it strangely tantalizing having him muffling her cries for more. He grew more feverish in his movements. Still getting the hang of the new position. It would take some practice. She mentally smiled. It would need a lot more practice. A gentle breathe of air in her ear made her shiver. The words uttered sent her over the edge.

"Lucy, I'm going to cum inside you now." she tensed and nodded her consent. He said it as if it were set in stone and it only heightened her lust for him. His thrusts grew heavier and faster. Just don't stop! She wanted to scream it at the top of her lungs. Finally with a growl he felt his mouth fall open as he released his seed into her for a second time. Swiftly he leaned down and gently bit the nape of her neck. She was too far gone to even feel the dull pain, swiftly following him over the cliff.

The morning light wedged it's way through the bedroom curtains to bombard the two sleeping lovers. Lucy glared in her sleep as she yanked the covers up over her eyes. She wrapped her arms around her stuffed animal and frowned yet again. It wasn't near as soft as it should be. Suddenly she felt a warm, wet tongue languidly brush her exposed chest. She groaned and squeezed her legs together and rocked her hips.

"Gods Lucy, you're making that smell again." the insult woke her up to a crashing wave of memories.

"What the..." she threw back the covers as Natsu blinked rapidly against the sudden light while brandishing his signature smile.

"Wh...what smell?" she said furiously. Natsu inhaled dramatically with his eyes closed, as if savoring a delicious meal. Letting out a gust of air he grinned hungrily at her.

"The kind that makes me wanna eat you." Her eyes widened.

"No Natsu wait!" Her protests went ignored as he pulled the sheets over them. She shrieked in outrage only to quickly be silenced, presumably from a very passionate kiss. It was quiet for a few more moments before more shifting occurred under the blanket followed by several bouts of moaning.

"Natsu, we can't. We need to get up. Happy will be..."

"still at the dorms." he finished for her in a muffled voice as his body shifted further under the blankets.

"What are you doing? Hey!"

"Just relax. I got this..."

"No, that tickles!" Lucy squealed. Her laughter was cut short as Natsu suddenly clamped his hand over her mouth again. At first she thought he would take her like the night before. She quickly wrapped her legs in his and pulled him into her. He gasped. But still didn't move even as she pulsated her hips gently.

"whansmong?" he looked confused. In frustration she wrenched her head from behind his hand. "What's wrong? I thought this is what you wanted." she reached down and grabbed hold of his round bottom and pulled him closer. His eyelids fluttered shut but still he didn't move.

"Um I think you were right Lucy." She ran her tongue along his neck to his earlobe. A small hiss escaped his teeth.

"Why's that?" she sucked on an area of exposed skin.

"Happy's here." Lucy paused and stopped breathing. She desperately pulled the sheets back to see a curious pair of eyes peeking at them from outside the window. With a high-pitched scream she was up in a flash and bolting for the bathroom. Natsu had just enough time to nab a pillow and cover himself. He grinned while scratching the back of his head, not sure what to do next.

Oblivious to what he had just interrupted, Happy clawed the window pane like any other domesticated feline. Sighing, Natsu grabbed hold of his discarded pants and put them on before moving to unlatch the window. The exceed shot through with eyes wide, tearing up.

"Why didn't you wait for me? I wanna cuddle with Lucy too!" The aforementioned person made a reappearance in a bathrobe as she nervously wrapped her hair up into a knot in the back.

"We weren't cuddling!" she denied. "We were..." she hesitated as she took in the big innocent eyes of their flying companion.

"Training!" interjected Natsu, taking pity on her.

"Training?" exclaimed the exceed and stellar mage simultaneously.

"Yeah, training. Secret training," he said quietly as if afraid someone might hear. Lucy caught on quickly.

"Natsu offered to help me get stronger so we have been training in secret," she amended. The exceed eyed them suspiciously, deep in thought.

"But why were you training without clothes? It looked like sex to me..."

"And how do you know what that looks like you stupid alley cat!" Lucy snapped. Natsu waved his hands back and forth appeasingly.

"It's a special kind of training only for stellar mages. Not even the spirits know about it," his tone changed dangerously at the end. Lucy glanced sharply at him. What was that? A cloud seemed to settle around him. Happy thought it wise to not say anything else on the matter. Instead he went along with their little lie.

"If it's a secret, are you going to train a lot?"

"No!"

"Yes." Lucy felt a giant drop of sweat making its way down her temple.

"N...Natsu, maybe we should take it slow. I've never had this type of training before," she said shakily as a small ache yelled at her from below. The devilish smile he threw her was not comforting in the least.

"You know what they say, no better way than to just dive in."

"Who are they?" she yelled. Happy laughed and sat on the window sill.

"Come on Lucy. The training can't be that bad," he said, poking her further. Natsu was grinning ear to ear as Lucy's face turned ten shades of red.

"Get out!" Two figures were ejected through the window at top speed. One with wings and the other half naked. Happy quickly grabbed hold of Natsu's pants and flew off in the direction of home.

"You guys did it, didn't you?" he felt more than saw Natsu beam with giddiness and took it as a yes.

"You better know what you're doing Natsu. I'd sure hate to see Lucy get hurt." The dragon slayer sobered immediately and refused to say anything.

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A/N: A little longer than I had originally intended. Thanks for reading! **Don't forget to review!**


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I think I'm going to continue to play on Natsu's lack of understanding the parameters of a relationship and what it might entail. Makes it more interesting for later if I keep going with this.

DISCLAIMER: Once again, Mashima's doing, not mine.

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The guild was as rowdy as ever yet it still managed to create a lull for Lucy whenever she arrived. She quickly found a place at the bar to chat with Mirajane. Today she attempted to act no differently than any other day. Fortunately Natsu hadn't arrived yet making the task easier to act natural. Groaning inwardly she sat gingerly down on the bar stool. Would it be out of the ordinary to ask for a bag of ice to sit on? The soreness was definitely something she had not mentally been prepared for. Mira was absently drying a glass as she made her way over to Lucy, glancing at her occasionally and presenting a sweet smile.

"You and Natsu had sex didn't you?" Lucy jumped up off the stool and planted a hand over Mira's smiling mouth, thanking the gods, stars and any other heavenly body that no one had overheard her.

"How the hell do you do that?" she whispered vehemently. The S-class mage-turned bartender shrugged, unaffected by Lucy's flustered state. Lucy pulled her hand away and wiped it on her shirt as an afterthought.

"It's a gift. Now I need to work on Gajeel and Levy." Lucy blinked in confusion.

"That's it? No further inquiry? No interrogation or threats for details?" Surprisingly Lucy felt a little disappointed as she sat back down a little bit too quickly.

"Well it's apparent you'd like to keep it quiet for now. Given who you've chosen as your lover, I can see why. I'll dish it out of you when you're ready." Lucy felt there was definitely too much time spent saying the word 'lover,' but despite that she was immensely relieved and grateful for Mira's understanding nature. Before she could convey this the man she most wanted to see and avoid waltzed into the guild, freshly washed, whistling and grinning like an idiot. Lucy dropped her head into her hand feeling a headache coming on. Could the dolt be any more obvious? A hand reached out suddenly and landed on her shoulder forcing her to jump out of her skin. She turned to see Natsu's big toothy grin as he looked not at her but Mirajane.

"Oi, Mira! Do you need help bringing up any casks from down below?" Mira tilted her head and thought not all that hard about it, or at least that what it looked like to Lucy.

"I could use a few. Would you be a lamb and go get some for me?" Natsu saluted enthusiastically.

"Luce come help!"

"What? " she barely had time to respond before he dragged her off to the cellar so fast there was an actual after image of her stunned face. Mira chuckled.

"What's so funny?" asked Cana as she took a moment to look up from her beer mug and cards.

"Nothing, Cana. Can I get you a refill?"

The trap door had barely closed behind them before Natsu had Lucy pinned up against a wall, showering her with passionate kisses. His hands explored freely, already becoming familiar with what made her tick.

"N...Natsu, hold on! Not here, someone might..." He stopped just long enough to send a very well placed stream of fire towards the trapdoor lock. It melted into a clump of inoperable metal. "Problem solved." Lucy felt herself reeling from how demanding he could be, but more importantly, did the idiot consider how they were going to get back out? He continued to tug at her shirt buttons, popping one open after another. Her breathing became more labored as she continued to resist.

"Natsu, we can't do this all day. It's good to do things in moderation," she said as another feeble attempt to stall him. He paid close attention to that sensitive spot below her earlobe he had discovered the night before. She couldn't help but shiver.

"I've never done anything in moderation," he grumbled as he pulled her miniskirt up to her waist. A mental note was made to wear pants for a while, though she was sure that probably wouldn't stop him either. She gasped as he slid his fingers past her panties. "See? I can practically do you right now." Lucy bit her lip, locked in an epic battle between propriety and desire. It was finally decided as Natsu released his belt buckle and almost violently entered her. She would have to work on that, she noted as well, but such thoughts ran dry as he slowly began their dance they had established the evening before.

"Natsu," she moaned as the pace began to pick up. His arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, keeping her firmly in place. He groaned... loudly. As the force of his passion pushed her up higher on the cellar wall, all she could do was hold on for dear life as he took as much as he could and with as much vigor as possible.

"Natsu!" she cried, caught between pain and pleasure as her back scraped along the stone surface. Sharp pain became more prevalent as he continued to seek his satisfaction. Their heated moment was rudely interrupted by a fist banging strongly on the trap door.

"Natsu! The door is stuck! Get out here you flame brain, you owe me jewels!" yelled Gray irately. Natsu reluctantly pulled his head back and took a slow, shaky breath, promising yet again he would not kill a nakama, but gods knew that Gray was trying his resolve. His attempt to calm himself didn't seem to be working.

Moments later, Natsu appeared at the cellar doorway, his eyes alight with fury. Gray had his back turned and upon looking over his shoulder at the dragon slayer, he realized that he was quite possibly in mortal danger. The pink haired baboon stood at the top of the stairs, broken door in hand, disheveled and with his belt hanging loose. Lucy, just as unkempt, stood behind him, trying to edge her way out of sight.

"Hey Lucy! I didn't know that you were down there too..." his sentence trailed off as he reassessed the situation. "Oh..." his brain finally caught up with him. "Ooooh... Lucy! Natsu! I didn't realize you were DOWN there..."

"Save it, you frosty-eyed yeti." Natsu leapt at the stunned ice mage. A cloud of dust was kicked up as fists, feet and teeth erupted into a flurry of movement. Within the tangled mess of flying limbs and curses, Natsu grabbed Gray by his collar and yanked him close enough for only him to hear.

"If one word of this gets out, I'll make sure Juvia finds that old box of Bodacious Mages magazines you still have stashed away somewhere." Gray swallowed audibly and nodded immediately backing out right away, the cloud of discontent diminishing instantly.

"Gray..." Lucy tried to explain but he held his hand up.

"I don't know what you have to say, Lucy, but it surely has nothing to do with you NOT being locked in the cellar all alone with that flame-tard." With that, Gray took off out the door mumbling something about relocating his precious stock before someone else found it. Lucy swung her gaze round to Natsu who was calmly dusting himself off only to refocus his attention on her. Desperately she edged back towards the main hall, scanning the area to find a potential lifeline. Within moments, she found it chewing on his iron breakfast.

"Gajeel! Do you know where Levy is? I've been looking for her all morning!" she lied. The iron dragon slayer glared intimidatingly at her.

"How the hell would I know? I'm not her keeper," he growled. Lucy ignored his rude response and began to drag him mid-bite towards the guild exit.

"Oh I'm sure we can manage to find her if we both look. I really appreciate it!" The man was so stunned by her abrupt behavior he failed to pull away at first. It wasn't until the doors closed with Natsu staring after her in confusion that Gajeel wrestled his arm away from her.

"Do you mind telling me what's going on, Bunny-girl?" She sighed in relief. Before she could answer she stopped in her tracks as Gajeel very dramatically started sniffing the air around her before gagging and covering his nose and mouth. "Wow, that's quite a scent you've got going on there. I take it that you and fire boy finally got it on and fairly recently I'm guessing." Lucy threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Does EVERYONE know about this?!" she cried. Pulling herself quickly together she practically jumped on Gajeel's chest, very similar to that of a monkey.

"You tell no one! Got it? Not a single word or I'll tell Levy I know where her panties have been disappearing to." It was a gamble, but she was pretty sure she saw Gajeel hurriedly tuck a bright pink piece of cloth into his pocket one day. Not long later, Levy mentioned off hand that some of her clothing had gone missing. She began to sweat as she and the large dragon slayer initiated a very intense staring contest. Finally his face turned the brightest red she had ever seen and he let his chin fall in defeat. Lucy didn't wait for an answer, jumping down and straightening her skirt.

"You've gotta take it slow though." Lucy gave him a sidelong glance as she adjusted her hair into a ponytail.

"Go on," she said cautiously. His partially gloved hand seemed to find comfort behind his head, his eyes looked skyward.

"Dragon slayers are human, no doubt about that, but with their magic properties they have a tendency to take on some dragon-like characteristics. They vary from one to another, but a common one from what I was told was the need to stake a claim on a mate." Lucy felt the hairs on the back of her neck go straight up on end. "Apparently that can occasionally involve some pretty physical marking or scarring. Something about the claim being visible so that everyone knows the woman is taken." She felt her knees begin to shake. Scarring? What kind of scarring? Natsu could hurt her? She refused to believe it, but she had noticed a kind of violent abandon nipping at the edges of their lovemaking. Her cheeks turned red at the memory of their interrupted tryst in the cellar.

"Argh! Would you cut that out Bunny-girl! I'll lose my breakfast!"

"It's not like I can help it. Just plug your nose! Besides, Natsu can't seem to get enough of it," she grumbled the last under her breath. The corner of Gajeel's mouth quirked up with a clothes pin suddenly appearing on his nose.

"So the claim has already begun. Your chemicals have started to arrange towards him."

"M...my what?"

"Think of it as a customizable partner, patented to fit only one user."

"I'm not sure I like the analogy..." Gajeel ignored her.

"If you reprogram too quickly, the partner can be damaged. That's part of the reason why I suggested you guys take it slow. It is possible to come out of this in one piece, but knowing that walking dunce cap, he has no clue about any of this and will just go barreling in. Someone could get hurt." He looked at her meaningfully.

"How do I know you're not pulling my leg," Lucy croaked out suspiciously, trying to absorb all of this. "I mean you're basically telling me that Natsu and I will inevitably become lifelong partners, whether I like it or not, and that I could quite possibly be maimed in the process."

"There's no guarantee that he'll hurt you, but it's best to be warned. If you have any misgivings, test it out if you want. I bet your body is already starting to reject other suitors. Besides, I thought you'd be ecstatic with this development."

"It's not that I don't like the idea it just all seems foreign and preordained. It doesn't settle well with me, and on top of that I don't even know what Natsu thinks of this whole situation…" she quickly shifted the focus. "Is that what you're doing with Levy right now? Taking it slow?" Gajeel seemed to choke on some imaginary item. "No! It's nothin' like that... I... I..." Gajeel now looked for his own lifeline and found it innocently heading towards the guild doors. "Lily! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for ya'. I saw some trees in back that'd look so much better with some holes in 'em." Gajeel pounced on the unsuspecting exceed and proceeded to drag him in the opposite direction, a trail of dust flying behind. Lucy chuckled momentarily before turning back to her predicament. Test it out huh?

A/N: That's it, that's all I have left in my arsenal for now. Actually, so far all of this was written via iPhone (-_-') I highly recommend not doing that unless your goal is to slow down your thoughts long enough to write it out. That's the only up side... Anyway, R&R and let me know if there should be a continuation or if this is just too cliche... I hate cliches and I most certainly don't want to be a perpetrator.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm actually starting to have a little fun with this! Thanks guys for the reviews!

DISCLAIMER: Not mine.

* * *

Natsu was baffled to say the least. Lucy's reluctance to be alone with him was rather unexpected. Was it because she didn't enjoy it? No, he was positive she enjoyed it, so why the bait and switch? Perhaps it was something he did? He no longer knew where he stood with things the way they were with Lucy. As far as he knew, nothing had changed, just an added feature to their already close relationship. Of course, it's not like it was something he would do with just anyone, but from the sounds of it, having relations with a woman can be done with more than one person. Was he supposed to spread out and find others? He had imagined Lisanna before, but after having actually experienced sex, he wasn't so sure he could ever see her in that way. But Wakaba was prime example of the multiple-woman concept, or at least he attempted to be. The guild was riddled with talk of men's conquests over women, or those they wished to conquer. Loke, before he returned to his spirit state, made a point of it all the time. Just thinking of the Lion made his stomach ignite with indigestion. There was most definitely something that was recently irking him about the stellar spirit and it was becoming worse just thinking about it. The whole loop was giving him one massive migraine so instead of continuing the train of thoughts stuck on repeat, he decided to sniff out the unsuspecting ice mage to pick a fight. Yes, fighting, apart from the actual guild, always was a good safe haven and place to start. His immediate intentions were momentarily interrupted when he caught sight of Lisanna sitting at the bar, innocently carrying out some good-natured conversation with Bisca. She laughed and smiled at something the sniper said only to catch Natsu staring at her. Unfazed she waved at him vigorously, indicating she wanted him to join them. Without much thought to it he wandered over and stood next to the two seated women.

"Natsu, you have to hear about Bisca's latest mission. It involves a vat full of apples, a renegade pig, and an enchanted paperclip!" Lisanna stopped for a moment, noticing the look on Natsu's face.

"What's got you looking like someone ran over your puppy?" Natsu snapped out of it, immediately fired up.

"Who?! Who ran my puppy over?!" Bisca buried her head in her hand and shook it before languidly waving a farewell to move on to a more intelligent conversation. Lisanna giggled and then returned to a state of concern.

"What's wrong, Natsu?" He was quiet for a moment and continued to contemplate somewhere in the depths of his mind.

"What are you supposed to do when you can't stop thinking about someone?" Lisanna caught her breath and was stunned silent. First of all, perhaps the dragon slayer wasn't as stupid as he put on. This was definitely not a topic that she could imagine him having with Bisca nearby. A blush ran its way up her neck and lightly brushed her cheeks.

"Wh… who can't you stop thinking about?" she asked quietly.

"It's not important," Natsu said bluntly. "What I need to know is what I'm supposed to do." He took both of his hands and rattled his hair on both sides of his head in frustration as he plopped into the recently vacated seat.

"Well," Lisanna proceeded cautiously. "Have you thought about spending more time with her? Or him?" Natsu frowned.

"I've already been doing that for a while." Lisanna wasn't sure what to do with that.

"What changed then?"

"We had sex," Natsu said matter-of-factly.

"What?!" Lisanna's voice rang out throughout the guild as she shot up out of her seat. Everyone froze to turn and stare at her. She quickly gathered her wits and waved apologetically before sheepishly sitting back down. Well, she had a pretty good idea now who it was Natsu couldn't stop thinking about. She cleared her throat, possibly to gain her more time to come to terms with Natsu, innocent Natsu, having sex with someone.

"Um, I think then that thinking more about that person is only natural." Natsu seemed nonplused as his expression was requesting elaboration. "I mean you really care for… that person, right?"

"Of course!" he stated, almost insulted. "I care for all of my nakama. I'd do anything for them, you know that." Lisanna felt a small idea of how this could get very complicated very quickly.

"No, I mean, it's different with someone that you've…" she hesitated.

"Had sex with," he finished for her. Her face transformed into a red tomato.

"Stop saying it so casually!"

"Why? Isn't it supposed to be a casual thing?" For the second time the guild froze as the sound of a hand meeting face resonated throughout the hall. All eyes turned to the source. Lisanna stood heaving as she stared down at Natsu's stunned face.

"That is NEVER a casual thing!" she roared as she spun on her heel and thundered out the doors. After a few more moments of silence, everyone redirected their eyes from the door to Natsu, who still had not moved. Suddenly he jumped up and waved his hands in the air like a mad man.

"What the hell is going on?!" Seeing as this quite possibly would escalate into yet another free for all as Natsu started rolling around in his frustration, knocking over a table in the process which unfortunately was seated by Elfman, several seasoned guild members were already making moves to exit the building.

* * *

Lucy was perplexed as she saw a large group of people hurriedly leaving the guild. Must have been the mid morning rush, she thought as she slowly walked back towards her apartment. She had no appetite and going back in would means he would have to face Natsu and for some reason, she just couldn't seem to bring herself to do it quite yet. Gajeel's words kept drifting in and out of her head. Test it? Did he mean try to get intimate with someone else? She shivered and wasn't entirely sure it was because of her chemical changes or her own emotional repugnance at the idea. This confusion made her even more irritated. It shouldn't be like this! It should be easy for her to know her own feelings, not second guessing them. Her thoughts were interrupted when Lisanna slowly approached her from the crowd Lucy had all but forgotten, her face downcast.

"Lisanna?" It was as if she hadn't been heard. Finally the other woman stopped in front her, seemingly to gather the courage to look her in the eyes. Lucy almost stepped back as a reaction to the situation, but held firmly in place. Did she know? Was she mad? Why was she so quiet? Finally Lisanna raised her hands and then brought them down swiftly onto Lucy's shoulders and squeezed.

"Good luck," she finally said darkly as she dropped her hands and slowly turned around to continue her dazed wandering. Lucy stood there, unsure of what to do or how to take those words. Was it a challenge? Was it nothing more than a good-natured gesture?

"Argh!" she cried out, her arms flung in the air. Ever so slowly, so as not to startle the already spooked guild members still leaving, she sank down and sat on the nearest stone, converting it into her thinking place.

_What do I do? I'm not ready for a relationship, or at least I don't think I am. What if Natsu doesn't want one? More importantly, how the hell is my body going to change? Patented? My body's chemicals are changing? That's too weird for words. It's only been one day, not even! How is it even possible? How can that idiot not have known this would happen?! _Lucy slowly began to grow angry, displaced or not. _He needs to take responsibility for his idiocy! It's like running around with beebee gun without having read the manual! _Lucy sighed and realized it wasn't fair of her to place all of the blame on him. It literally took two to tango in this case. Yet it would be so much easier to pile her anger onto him instead. She covered her face with both of her hands, trying to find a happy place, anything but this hodgepodge mess that was her thoughts.

"Lucy?" Her heart stopped as she looked up to find the source of all her turmoil standing in front of her with hands on hips.

"Natsu!" Why was she surprised?

"What are you doing out here?" He looked around them. "Did you find Levy?" Lucy smiled ironically and stood up, brushing off her backside. She was about to respond but stopped as she caught a red hand print angrily sitting on his cheek.

"What happened?" she cried as she cupped his chin in one hand, turning his face one way or the other. Natsu had to forcibly keep himself from purring from the contact. Her fingers were cool and gently. He liked them.

"Lisanna slapped me," he pouted.

"Lisanna?" Lucy blinked a few times. "What did you do to make her slap you?"

"I don't know!" he wailed as she pulled away, ruffling his hair with his hand in agitation, this becoming a new habit. "All I told her was that we had sex and she hauled off and slapped me!" Lucy's jaw fell open.

"You what?!" Natsu felt his stomach sink to his toes. This was almost worse than riding on a boat. Thinking very carefully, he chose to not say another word. Even if he had, Lucy never would have allowed it. "You told her?!" She took a threatening step towards him as he took one back as well. He swallowed audibly.

"Y…yes… b-but I don't see what the big deal is…"

"No big DEAL? Announcing that we had sex to everyone is no big DEAL to you?!" A few stragglers from the guild froze to peek at them. "What're you looking at?!" she yelled angrily. They all ducked and ran in the opposite direction. She turned her wrath back on Natsu.

"Tell me how that it is not a big deal!" she demanded. His mouth opened and closed, trying to find words. She was annunciating her words again like the night before. This could end either really really well, or in disaster caked with trouble. His throat went dry as he smacked his lips to get some saliva going.

"I mean, it's normal, right?" he said croaked out hopefully, taking a shot in the dark, not sure what lines he had crossed. This whole situation was completely new to him. He felt like a bull in a glass shop. "I mean what we did was normal," he amended. Lucy felt the first inkling of dread plant its seed.

"Natsu," she said softly, cautiously, not wanting to hear what she had a feeling he was going to answer. "What exactly is it do you think is happening between us?" A trap! It had to be a trap! Mayday! Mayday! Reverse! Reverse! Sweat started to visibly break out on Natsu's forehead.

"Sex," he said meekly. He couldn't read her expression.

"And how does that change us… this… right here, right now?" She was still speaking quietly.

"Um…" Silence only was making it worse, not better he realized. "It... doesn't?" His voice came out in a squeak. Lucy almost looked like that of a statue as she absorbed his words. Finally, with a wail, she came to life. Yet another resonating skin-on-skin slap wove its way through the air. Natsu now had matching cheeks as he stared after Lucy, barreling her way down the street towards her apartment.

"What the hell is going on?!" Natsu yelled at no one in particular.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for any errors or confusion. I whipped this up real quick to see where I would go, apparently I'm still working my way there... Anyway, as always, **R&R!**


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I might have to go back and correct wording or grammar later. I just wanted to throw this one out there before I head off to sleep. I will be lucky if I have time tomorrow to do some more writing.

Just FYI, the whole throwing up part will be explained later. I didn't have time tonight to get there in this chapter.

Again, my apologies for any gaps or misspellings, they'll be fixed later on.

DISCLAIMER: You know the drill, not mine.

* * *

Lucy was furious. She was beyond furious; she was a raging inferno. She was so entrenched in her swirling vortex of rage that she didn't even remember the run back. This was a fire that Natsu would never be able to handle. Natsu! All of her anger was primarily focused on the dragon slayer from the moment she broke into a run to the moment her foot crossed the threshold home. When the sound of the door slammed close behind her the burning need to strangle Natsu suddenly diminished; draining away like a cask that suddenly had a hole appear in the bottom. It was replaced with such an empty void that Lucy found herself circling the living room over and over again. Her sobs began to wrack her body. She couldn't remember the last time she cried this hard. The way she cried after Phantom Lord was defeated was nothing compared to the manic gasps that seemed to escape at random intervals. It was only made worse as she attempted to stop herself. She pressed her hand firmly over mouth, but the tears wouldn't stop. Finally, she collapsed onto the floor, head hanging with her silent sobs and occasional moans still shaking her body. She was drowning! She couldn't breathe! Deep down she had her answer to a forbidden question. She loved Natsu.

She was jarred from her agony suddenly as two hands slowly and gently cupped her trembling shoulders. Her head flew up with eyes wide, tears still forging rivulets down her cheeks, over her hands, and only to fall to the ground with the tiniest of sound. She immediately recognized the translucent shades that were his signature apparel. Squatting down, Loke's eyes were awash with worry and near panic. He had never seen her like this before.

"Lucy! Lucy, my love, what is wrong?" It was as if she didn't hear him as she lunged forward into his unsuspecting frame. His arms reflexively reached to hold her tightly as he was knocked back onto his rear. A dull throb went up his spine, but he ignored it as he gently stroked her hair, whispering small comfort into her ear as she continued to cry to the heavens. No words came from her, but he knew none were needed. She was in pain and that's all that mattered. He lowered his head to rest alongside hers, locking her in firmly. Finally her body began to relax as the sobs subsided, only to be interrupted by the occasional hiccups. Then began her rambles, even being so close to her, he couldn't make out what she was saying. Her face was buried in the lapels of his suit. It wasn't until moments later he heard it. The one word that explained everything: Natsu. His hands fisted tightly around her, squeezing to prevent himself from punching something.

So it had happened. He was actually waiting for it, but had not anticipated Lucy to fall apart like this. Natsu, whatever the idiot did, was going to need to pay for this and dearly, preferably with a limb or whatever excess body part Loke saw fit. Maybe the one hanging between his lower limbs… Loke's sadistic thoughts were jolted to a halt as Lucy suddenly reared back and glared at him. At first he thought she had become angry at him as well, but she only continued to stare at him very intensely. Her face was incredibly puffed up and swollen from all of her tears, but besides the small hitches in her breathing (remnants from her complete meltdown), her expression was one of very deep contemplation. What was she doing? Suddenly, Lucy's mouth opened as if to say something only to evict whatever was in her stomach right onto Loke's shirt.

"Waaaaah!" He flew back trying to avoid any further unwanted waste, leaving Lucy to kneel on the ground with a very pathetic look. Desperately he tried to rub off what had gotten on him, but only to spread it around. Eyes rolling around in a panic he made a beeline for the bathroom, making gag sounds of his own. Lucy was mumbling apologies as she soon followed to wash out her mouth as well.

It was quite a while before the two of them were cleaned up and the chaos had dissipated. They ended up at the kitchen table, sipping on tea silently. Lucy felt it. The atmosphere in the room was heavy. She knew Loke wanted an explanation but was too polite or afraid, she wasn't sure which of the two, to push her for answers. Finally, she placed the cup down on the saucer with a clink. It was very quiet but to her it felt like a starting gun going off. Just as she began to rev herself up to say something a knock came at the door. Her heart stopped, but she knew it wasn't him. Natsu avoided confrontations like these. She'd be lucky if she saw him within the next month. Giving Loke an apologetic look, she stood slowly and went to the door, opening it with little interest, focusing on how she was going to explain this to Loke without the spirit taking off to make a necklace out of varying Natsu parts.

"Can I help you…" Lucy's question trailed off as she took in the man standing at her door. "Natsu," she said breathlessly. Her hand flew to her mouth as her eyes started to tear up again. She nearly cursed aloud, hating herself for her reaction. Natsu looked at her imploringly, pleading for something that neither of them seemed to know what it was. At the mention of his name, Loke immediately pulled the door further back and rose intimidatingly from behind her, throwing daggers through his eyes at the dragon slayer. The submissive stance Natsu had arrived with dissolved leaving behind a man who wore death's face as a mask. His back hunched forward with his fists tightening at his side. His brow furrowed into a look Lucy had rarely seen outside of a difficult battle. There was no room for mercy wherever Natsu's mind had flown. His hair began to rise up as the heat started to gather around his body. She noticed vaguely his stance had widened. _Uh-oh… _it was the only thing Lucy could think as she slowly reached back and grabbed Loke's arm. The action alone was being interpreted in three different ways. Loke saw it as a plea for help, Natsu gave no particular purpose to the move, but the very fact that she was grabbing hold of this spirit's arm was making him lose his reasoning. Lucy, for her part, was looking simply to force the spirit back into the celestial realm.

"Loke," she whispered firmly over her shoulder, eyes never leaving Natsu. She glanced back and saw that Loke was locked in an epic battle of wills with the man standing on her doorstep. "I need you to go." This surprised the spirit out of his staring contest and he made moves to protest. She frowned and shook her head, nodding over at Natsu in warning. The spirit was torn. Finally with a last squeeze of his arm, Lucy let him go and stepped fully in front of the enraged man at the door. "Go," she ordered again. She didn't even need to look in order for her to know her spirit had acquiesced. Natsu dashed forward, pushing past her into the house, circling the room sniffing everything and growling deep in his chest as he saw the spirit was gone. Finally he swung around and extended his hand.

"Give me his key," he demanded. Lucy was stunned as she had closed her door, not wanting this encounter to be public.

"Wh-what?! You must be joking." Instead of immediately responding, Natsu flew forward with a terrifying speed and grabbed her wrists.

"Does it look like I am joking?" he growled from between clenched teeth.

"Natsu, I don't under…" before she could finish her sentence he yanked her forward into a hungry embrace. She didn't even have time to take a breath as she began to feel lightheaded from lack of air. He lashed his tongue within her mouth, exploring… no, not exploring… conquering every nook and cranny he could reach. With her off guard he wrapped his hands around her body and struggled to make a grab for her keys.

That did it. Lucy's eyes snapped open as her previous anger began to climb again. No one… not even Natsu was allowed to take her keys from her. Shoving him back as hard as she could, she wrenched the keys from his grip. Natsu quickly took hold of her upper arms and pulled her back for yet another onslaught. It was the strangest battle she had ever fought. Finally, she managed to wrench free of his grip, putting an overstuffed chair between them. He circled it, his eyes never leaving hers. She felt like she was being stalked by a deadly predator.

"I'm not giving you my keys, Natsu," she said dangerously. She was tempted to call on one of her spirits, but instantly rejected that idea as this was something just between the two of them… and apparently Loke now as well.

"I don't want all of them, just Loke's," he ground out as he attempted to get closer only to have her dodge away in the other direction. She now moved across the room behind a table.

"And you know why I won't do that," she spat back. Natsu leapt agilely over the chair, bringing himself closer to the table. He gripped the edges as he leaned way forward. Lucy gripped her keys tighter. It was as if he was completely ignoring what she was saying. Something had utterly seized control of him, driving his actions and emotions and for the first time, Lucy felt a tiny bit of fear rear its ugly head. Trying to get a hold of herself, she attempted to reason with the infuriated dragon slayer.

"Why do you want it so badly?" She lunged backwards as he made another failed swipe at the keys.

"Because you're mine." He was practically baring his teeth at her, his eye completely centered on her hand holding the worn pouch.

"That doesn't even make sense!" she cried. "What has gotten into you?" She was exasperated and completely at a loss. Whatever it was that was gripping Natsu at this moment, had a firm hold and nothing was going to stop him apparently.

Her front door suddenly came crashing into the room, landing in splinters at their feet. Natsu's guard was down as he swung around to see the intruder. He was immediately met with a giant arm of iron ramming its way into his midsection. He fell in a dead faint.

And apparently, she was wrong. Gajeel stood there in the debris, examining his handiwork as he reformed his arm.

"Not bad timing if I do say so myself," he said with a snicker.

* * *

A/N: I realize Natsu is really out of character and I hate deviating from the personality Hiro put out there, but in my defense, the other characters also obviously acknowledge that Natsu is a lot OOC as well. I hope it plays in all right with the fact that since everything to do with Lucy is new for Natsu, I have some room to be a little more flexible with his actions and words. Thanks guys you've been great so far! **R&R **as always!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks for all of the nice reviews! Rewrote Lucy's internal processing section in Chapter 1. It wasn't sitting well with me... still kind of doesn't quite sit well with me... Hopefully it's a mild improvement.

DISCLAIMER: Mashima's, not mine.

* * *

Lucy couldn't stand still, occasionally fingering her keys, as if to make sure they were all there and accounted for. Gajeel had managed to wrap several layers of iron bands around Natsu and topped it off with a few chain links, just for good measure. The pink haired prisoner sat up against a wall far on the other side of the room. The iron dragon slayer sat, self-satisfied at the table, picking at something from underneath his nail as he sang under his breath quietly his next great debut song he planned to unleash on the guild next weekend. Lucy continued to pace, attempting to force the horribleness of the sounds coming from his mouth out of her ears.

"Is this what you were talking about? Natsu's behavior?"

"Yep," he said without even a thought, frowning as there was a particular piece of dirt that seemed to be caked on. Huh, maybe it was some blood. Shrugging, he finally picked it loose and flicked it across the room. Taking his pinky, he placed it in his ear and twisted it around as he sucked something out from between his teeth.

"So, what do I do? I mean I can't keep this up all the time, trying to fend him off like that!"

"Beats me Bunny-girl. Like I said before, I've only heard a little bit about this stuff. You're on your own." The corner of her mouth went up a little, pretty certain that Gajeel didn't entirely mean it. His actions always spoke louder than words.

"What do we do next?" she mumbled under breath. Gajeel's eyebrow went up.

"We? There's no 'we' in this!" She ignored him, continuing her pacing.

"He obviously has a point of contention with Loke…"

"Oi, no 'we,' none!"

"But it's not like Natsu needs to be worried about him. I mean, he's a spirit and I'm his mage…"

Gajeel gave up and slowly stood, stretching his stiff limbs as he leaned one way or another. She wasn't even acknowledging he was there anymore. Grumbling something about useless chatter, Gajeel slowly made his way towards the door that had been ill fixed with tape and barely reattached to the frame and started to open it.

"I don't even know if I want to do this. If it's going to be this way from now on, maybe I should break this off with Natsu," she said as a stab of pain went through her chest just at the very thought. Her statement brought Gajeel's actions to a halt as he closed the door loudly, turning back to look at her. The door instantly crumbled back to its previous state and Lucy felt a headache emerge.

"Listen up Bunny-girl."

"Lucy! My name is Lucy," she snapped at him without much feeling behind it.

"You don't seem to understand that once a dragon slayer, no a dragon, has his eyes on you, you can't end it, run, or hide. He'll find you every time. I don't know a lot about how this all works, but that I can say for certain," Gajeel's words sent shivers up and down her spine. Her eyes widened with every word.

"That's not…" she started

"Just accept it. Until he completely feels he has claimed you, you're gonna have to keep dealing with this flame-brained douche nozzle for a while." Lucy glared at him momentarily, not caring for the name calling. The other raised his hands in silent surrender, not wanting to get the girl mad. She wasn't pretty when she was mad. "Did ya' see for yourself though, that you're not goin' anywhere? Even your body won't allow it now." Lucy flinched, remembering her puking contest with Loke in the bathroom. Imagining doing XXX stuff with the spirit had ended in such a horrible bout of sickness that she didn't need any further confirmation.

"I'm a prisoner is what you're saying?" Gajeel sniffed arrogantly.

"I'd think of it as an honor, being hooked up with one of us. Grant it, I think you got the lamer one," he lorded over her as he glanced at Natsu, still sitting quietly in his corner. "Wouldn't you agree? Natsu?" Lucy's eyes widened and looked over at Natsu as he slowly rolled his head up to look at them.

"What is all this bullshit you're spewing?" he said in genuine confusion. He was obviously disagreeing with his current restraints as he began jerking his shoulders back and forth, as if trying to find some way to loosen the iron.

"You went mad for a bit there brainiac," said Gajeel flippantly, as he flopped back down on the couch, seeing as he obviously wasn't leaving after all, though he was tempted to leave the other dragon slayer in his bindings for a while.

"What are you talking about?" said Natsu as he examined Gajeel's handiwork, his voice portrayed none of his earlier rampant jealousy. Lucy sucked in her breath.

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what? Damnit these things are tight! Lemme outta here!" he wailed, practically spewing fire. Gajeel ducked casually as the top if his hair was singed ever so slightly.

"You went ape wild on Bunny-girl here. Tried to take 'er keys." Natsu paused in his attempt to get free to glance at Gajeel and then at Lucy. After waiting for someone to announce it was a joke and they failed to do so, he tried to fill in for them and began laughing nervously.

"You've got to be kidding me! Me? Try to take Lucy's keys? That doesn't even make sense!" Lucy couldn't even look him in the eyes.

"What do you remember, Natsu?" she asked quietly as she contemplated the floorboards of her apartment. He looked at her anxiously, not liking the pain that was in her voice. He had no clue what he would do if he had somehow knowingly hurt her.

"I remember coming here to apologize and that's it," he conceded honestly. The door had opened and the next thing he knew, he was here on the floor with some very uncomfortable bands of metal wrapped around him.

"Wait a minute, Gajeel, what are you doing here?" Natsu asked suspiciously. Gajeel lifted his head haughtily, bobbing it to mock him as he gave his answer.

"Apparently to save Bunny-girl, you spineless twit!"

"Watch it, metal mouth."

"Flaming dead weight!"

"Walking pachinko machine!"

"ENOUGH!" Lucy had it up to her eyeballs in idiots at this point. The two grudgingly went silent as they shot lightening back and forth with their eyes.

"Natsu, you got jealous of Loke when he appeared and started demanding I hand over my key." Natsu still seemed to be skeptical. Lucy rolled her eyes and yanked out the aforementioned item. Upon seeing it and what looked like to be Lucy preparing to call the lion, Natsu felt a growing cloud broiling within his stomach.

"Wait!" he cried. Lucy stopped just as her hand was raised to open the door. Both of his captors looked at him with surprise. "D-don't do it." Lucy frowned, perplexed by his reaction. He looked as if all of his strings were stretched to their limit. "Just, put it away and let me go," he pleaded. Lucy glanced at Gajeel who rolled his eyes in response before moving to unwrap his nakama. Even though his bindings were removed, he failed to move from his place on the floor, staring at his feet as he attempted to process everything.

"I'm not jealous," he finally grumbled defiantly. Lucy cocked her hip, crossing her arms, her patience was running thin.

"Really? Shall we test that out?"

"What?"

"Loke," she experimented simply by saying his name slowly, sensually. A growl immediately erupted from Natsu's mouth. His hand instantly cut it off by slapping itself over his trap. Taking a moment, he cleared his throat, nearly choking on his tongue.

"That doesn't necessarily mean…"

"Loke," tried Gajeel. Natsu started trembling as he clenched his fists. His lips twisted up into a grotesque attempt to smile.

"See? Nothing!" grit out Natsu. Lucy and Gajeel stared at him for a long moment.

"Huh, this is fun," smiled the iron dragon slayer. "Loke, Loke, Loke, Loke, Loke, Loke, Loke…" Suddenly, Gajeel was no longer inside the apartment, but flying out the window. Natsu started to genuinely smile as he watched a new star being born where Gajeel had flown.

"Natsu! My window!" He quickly looked around him and found the entire thing had been shattered. "Great! Now I have to pay for the window **and** door. Dragons! Argh!"

"Lucy…"

"NOT a word," she yelled. His lips seemed to seal on their own as she started to pace again. Finally after pausing to glance at him, deep in thought several times, she stopped to face him square on. "Sit down, Natsu, we need to talk."

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A/N: How was it? Am I getting too goofy here? (^_^)


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry guys, this is a very short and lemony chapter.

DISCLAIMER: Fairy Tail isn't mine.

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It took a surprisingly short amount of time for Lucy to summarize everything that Gajeel had revealed to her about their new situation and its implications. What was even more surprising was that Natsu sat patiently across from her at the table, arms crossed, and nodding periodically as he listened to her. His lack of response didn't really put Lucy at ease, however. She felt it was more like the silence before a very bad storm. Finally, after she came full round to their current predicament, a long silence stretched its way between them. Suddenly, the short distance between them seemed like miles long in her eyes, and as she watched his mouth begin to work on the words, she braced for the worst. She had no clue what that might be, but she was apprehensive nonetheless.

"That's it?" Her mouth seemed to hit the top of the table as it fell open.

"What do you mean by _that's it_?!"

"I don't see what the problem is. Everything Gajeel said isn't for certain and he even admitted he wasn't all that sure too. It shouldn't change the way we live our lives." Again that stone settled in her stomach.

"And how is it that we should live our lives?" she said almost timidly.

"Like we did before, but with sex!" he grinned with a thumbs-up.

"Idiot!"

After a while had passed and Natsu had regained his consciousness from Lucy's mammoth kick to the head, they continued their conversation.

"I feel like this is turning into a pattern. What am I missing that is making me everyone's number one target?" he said more to himself than to Lucy. A tick seemed to develop in the muscles running up along the side of Lucy's temple and she took mental note not to kick him again.

"It's your whole take on us having slept together!" she finally announced in exasperation. "There's a reason it's called 'making love'!" She blushed, but attempted to ignore it. "You don't just do it with anyone." Natsu interrupted her.

"I wasn't planning on doing it with just anyone; I was planning on doing it with _you_!" It slipped out in the heat of the moment and he actually hadn't put a lot of thought into it. And upon saying it, he came to a sudden realization. He didn't want to do it with anyone else. For someone who lacked perspective on the matter, to suddenly feel so strongly about it was dizzying. He attempted to go on. "You're my teammate, friend, nakama, and now..." He paused, not sure what to call her and chose to leave it as a silent indication. "I don't see why this is a problem," he conceded. "Do you not want to have sex with me?" he said it bluntly and it only accomplished in making Lucy turn even redder. Steam started to come out of her ears. Would he ever stop referring to it so casually?

"I-it's not like I don't want to…"

"So why are you getting all upset about what Gajeel said?"

"Because I don't know if you'll hurt me!" she cried. Whether she had meant it physically or emotionally, she wasn't quite sure herself.

"Who says that is what will happen?" Natsu said forcefully and it gave Lucy pause. "It's all a load of bull, and I don't believe in any of it! I decide what happens in my future and I sure as hell won't let instincts control me, especially if it means me hurting you. I didn't have sex with you because my instincts made me, well maybe in the beginning, but in the end I did it because I wanted to!" He paused as if in thought. "And I still do." Lucy looked at him stunned, trying to decipher what it was he was saying. He made it clearer for her as he stood up and slowly walked around to her side of the table. The only word that came to mind best describing him was _panther_. His eyes were hot as he gently placed his hand on the top of the table and leaned further in, bringing his face very close to hers.

"N-Natsu…"

"I know what I want right now and it's you. Everything else," he paused to look her closely in the eyes. "Doesn't matter," he grumbled as he finally took hold of her lips, his other hand reaching round to pull her head forward.

Nothing; this solved absolutely nothing! But he was swamping her senses, muddling them so she couldn't think straight. She tried to pull away to say something but he persistently held her. He seemed to have realized that to avoid further death punches and debilitating kicks, kissing was the best way to go. Actually it was quite effective. He imagined briefly if it was a method that would work on Erza. He immediately scratched that, seeing his gravestone as a result. He began to urgently slant his lips against hers. Finally, she seemed to cave and fully embraced him. He felt her acceptance even before her body moved as he swung her up into his arms princess style and made his way straight for her bedroom. They fell headlong onto the bed, a tangle of arms and legs as they all struggled to discard excess clothing. He loomed over her, kneeling to rip his vest off and then reaching for her shirt. Suddenly, she clutched her hands over her chest.

"Gently, Natsu, please." She smiled hesitantly. It was a new experience, having his heart feel as though it was being clamped down inside a vice. Nodding and smiling, despite this inner drive to take and ravage, capture and claim, he very carefully placed his lips over hers again, ceasing all other movements just for that moment. Pulling away, he stared at her as she nodded silently for him to continue to undress her much slower. She quite liked this new pace. It made it even more sensual.

Upon the last of their garments hitting the floor they embraced one another, groaning, reacting to the sudden full body contact. It felt so incredibly good that Natsu didn't know what to do with himself for a moment. Again, that urge to take her quickly attempted to swamp him, but he grit his teeth against it as he buried his head between her breasts. He was not going to be all talk! He was in full control! **_He_** **_is_** in control! He pressed himself against her, attempting to nudge her legs open. His hand snaked down to test her entrance. Gods, she was already there… she was waiting for him and he had to have her. There wasn't any room to dabble like the night before. He had to be in her at that moment or he just might crumble into ash.

When he finally did press his length into her, he took note to do it gently, just as she had requested and he saw it paid off. She sighed as her eyes fluttered close, enjoying the feel of him throbbing inside of her. Once she was adjusted to him, she finally opened her eyes and let her lips separate wantonly, as if silently begging him to begin. He very purposefully set a slow pace, and Lucy knew he kept it the same in an attempt to keep from going over the edge. Pretty soon, she realized he might not be able to hold it as long as he had hoped as he would randomly stop to clench his teeth and leave a trail of kisses down her neck. She felt a sudden wave of affection, knowing he was holding himself back for her. Seeing he was struggling, she finally rested her hand gently on his cheek, bringing his eyes front and center.

"Now, Natsu. Give me everything." A pained expression crossed his face as he finally withdrew some of his restraint. His hips jarred forward faster. Lucy was forced to grab hold of his shoulders and hang on for dear life as she felt the heat gathering into a tighter and tighter coil, ready to burst.

"Mmph…" she reflexively released one shoulder to bite down on her knuckle, trying not to cry out. Natsu's own groans became more distinct he approached his climax.

"Lucy!" he burst forward as it wracked his entire body. Lucy stared at him pleadingly.

"Natsu, I'm almost…" he realized she was still on her journey. Though he quickly felt his energy leaving him, he pushed forward several more times, sending her a lifeline to grasp, and she took it.

"Ah!" she strangled out as her body began to compress around him, trying to convey how relieved it was.

Natsu collapsed and rolled off of Lucy so as not to crush her. Swiftly, she found a nook on his shoulder meant just for her. She languidly threw her arm across his chest and began to draw lazy little circles with her fingers. His free arm cocked itself to be used as pillow for his head. They both stared off into the space, refusing to break the spell of contentment that had settled itself over them. Finally, Natsu made the first move to talk. Perhaps it was the high he was coming off of at that very moment or that he had simply reached some kind of epiphany, either way, he was feeling clearer about what to say to her.

"I don't know much about relationships and what I'm supposed to do in one. I don't know what it means to love someone as a boyfriend should, but I do know how I feel. I liked how we worked before we had sex, but this isn't so bad either. We shouldn't stress ourselves out about what it all means. All that matters is that you're the only one I will do this with and hopefully you feel the same way. No one else can tell us how to act or what we should do, as long as we both agree that the other is very important and special." He turned his chin down so that he stared her directly in the eyes. "Because you are very important to me Lucy, and I would never hurt you." Her breath got stuck somewhere. He didn't say he loved her, but perhaps this was as close as she was going to get. She knew he would never knowingly hurt her, or any of his nakama and for some reason that stung, knowing that she was not much different from the others except for him bedding her. If making love didn't make him understand love for a woman, than she was at a complete loss. The whole thing was too ambiguous. Breaking his stare, she looked rapidly around as if trying to figure out what it all meant. Was she all right with settling with this _tsundere_ approach? Was she okay knowing there was no guarantee that he wouldn't get tired of her later on? She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure about any of it and therein was the problem. She didn't want it. She didn't deserve that kind of relationship.

Shaking her head, she sat up, clutching the sheets to her chest, still trying to figure it all out. But slowly her answer was beginning to take form.

"I don't know," she said shakily, refusing to look at him as he propped himself up on his elbows to look at her, perplexed. "I don't know Natsu," was all she could muster as she finally turned to him.

"Lucy…" She saw panic sweep its way across his face. "Lucy, why are you crying?" She was surprised. Her fingers reached up to see what he meant and was shocked to find that she was indeed crying. Fear took hold of her as she looked back at Natsu, realizing somewhere deep inside, the decision had already been made.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Natsu's eyes widened, his own eyes glossing over.

"Lucy…" She cut him off as she turned away and brought her knees up to hide her face from him. Her arms wrapped themselves around her bent legs as if to ward off something or someone. She only continued mumble the same thing. "I'm sorry. I can't… I just can't."

* * *

A/N: So, yeah... this story has kind of gotten away from me. I had plans on one thing happening, but I got taken another way. Makes it more interesting I hope. I've also decided to try to do an additional story for Gajeel and Levy that will run parallel to this one. However, no promises on that lasting because I honestly think I have bitten off more than I can chew! I hope to post that soon: _Tempting a Dragon_. Title is subject to change. As always, **R&R! **Thanks all!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Having major writer's block recently. Gonna be a struggle catching up the story line with _Tempting a Dragon_, so I might not be updating this particular story until the other one has developed a bit more. That's what I get for starting another story so late.

Anyway, **R&R!**

DISCLAIMER: Mashima's all of it...

* * *

Lucy couldn't remember if it had been a day, a week, or even a month. Few came to visit her during this time, as most of them didn't know the full extent of what had happened between her and her partner. It was a blessing and a curse at the same time for her. She desperately wanted to talk to someone, but just couldn't bring herself to reach out. She did try to contact Levy, feeling the two of them would have some degree of understanding for one another, but strangely, the solid-script mage was nowhere to be found. That left Lucy with few others as Erza and Gray seemed to be constantly absent as well. Only once, after several days had passed did the two of them come desperately knocking on her door. As soon as she opened it, Gray came flying through with an expression of a man who had lost his soul. His cheeks were hollowed and his eyes rested atop two solidly built bags. Erza's hair was standing on all ends, though she attempted to look as calm and strong as ever, Lucy noticed a slight tick on her temple that wouldn't seem to go away.

"Luuuuucy! You've gotta help us! He's gone crazy! Four… FOUR missions in one week! Two of them we had to take a train and one of them on a boat! I'll never go on water again! Never! Not after what he does with his motion sickness…" He began to babble more, something about sparring with nauseous dragon slayers. Gray was gasping for air as he clung to her hands, kneeling before her. She looked up for help from Erza, not sure what was going on or what to do. Erza took the clue and interjected by knocking a closed fist over the back of Gray's head. Instant KO. Heaving him onto the couch, she proceeded to flop down next to him, letting out a gust of air.

"Wh-what was that all about?" Erza looked at her through half-closed lids, about ready to fall asleep herself. Looking at her team member, she noted that the stellar mage had lost quite a bit of weight. She took a memo to make sure she stuffed her full of food next time she set foot in the guild, willingly or not.

"Instead of passively passing out or becoming immobile when on a vehicle, Natsu has taken to sparring with someone to keep his mind off of it. Unfortunately, that does not agree with his body and he ends up losing to his stomach anyway." She nodded towards Gray's X'ed out eyes. "It was regrettable that Gray happened to be in the way all 10 times…" Lucy cringed and slowly allowed herself to sit down across from Erza, who held up her hand, stopping an immediate response. Lucy caught on to it's meaning.

"There's more?!" she cried. The red-head nodded gravely.

"When sparring failed, he decided to swim alongside the boat. Somehow he managed to drag Gray with him. Same thing happened on the train, but they wouldn't allow him to spar on board, so he ran alongside the train car, also taking Gray with him."

"It's that bad, huh?" she said shakily, the weariness on Erza's face finally began to show.

"He's insistent on going on one mission after another. He said you two had a fight. Is that true? You don't need to answer now, but I thought you should know he's doing all of these missions for you." Lucy's eyes widened.

"For me?" The other nodded gravely.

"It seems he thinks that you staying away from the guild is his fault, so he's taking on as many missions as possible to give you space."

"That's ridiculous…"

"Is it?" Erza interrupted, her eyes were intense, invoking her not to lie.

"Erza… what happened between Natsu and me was more than just a fight. We…" Lucy's face began to collect all of her body's blood as she realized that telling Erza about their escapades was incredibly embarrassing.

"Would it help if I stop you there and tell you that I already know all about it and that I'd rather skip over the details?"

"How?" she cried out. Again, the exquip mage glanced at Gray. Lucy cursed under breath, trying to think very hard where he might have stashed that box of explicit magazines and where would be the most likely place that Juvia might find them.

"The way I see it, it's been over three weeks now." Three whole weeks? What happened to the time? Spent mostly under her comforter actually. "Don't you think it's about time to come back to the guild and face reality?" Lucy felt a little bit prickly being told what to do. No one knew what she was going through; rejecting the man she loved, knowing that it would have only been fleeting. Or not knowing how to proceed, seeing the object of her love and affection every day and to still manage to turn away in the end. Perhaps Levy might have understood, but she was unavailable.

Erza saw her hesitance and frowned, aware that Lucy was in pain, but the lack of sleep and incessant fatigue caught up to her and made her cut to the chase with some tough love.

"From what I can tell, you're the one who ended it didn't you? You can't sit here and mope for the rest of your life. If anything, Natsu should be the one doing this."

"But he's not!" Lucy snapped, not holding the usual fear and caution when challenging Erza. Finding someone to vent on was much needed, even if it was the Titania. She was sure she was going to regret it later, but once the dam broke… "He's perfectly fine without me. I'm the same as everyone else in this guild in his eyes. I mean the same to him as you, Happy, Gray, Mirajane, Elfman, Cana…" Erza saw that this list could go on for a while, so she cut her off.

"He's not fine! Can't you tell just by looking at what's right in front of you? All of those he loves, his nakama, are in that guild hall and he is no longer going there because he is so busy going on those godsdamned missions… all for you!" The atmosphere in the room continued to get heated as Lucy kept shaking her head, refusing to listen.

"It's the same… it's the same… it's the same! He'd do it for any of you guys! He'd do it for you, Gray, Happy… Lisanna! He doesn't LOVE me! Sure, I'm special, but who the hell isn't with that guy? And if I didn't care about whether or not he loves me as a woman versus a nakama, then that would make me no more than a fuck buddy!" Her words hung heavily in the air, her anxiety dripping from each one, as Erza scanned the other's face closely.

"Is that really how you feel about it?" she said dangerously.

"Yes," Lucy cried without thought. Silence.

"I suggest you come back to the guild and see how Natsu is handling the loss of his 'fuck buddy'," she said disdainfully as she stood quickly while simultaneously grabbing hold of the back of Gray's pants and proceeded to storm out.

Lucy felt wretched. If Erza's strategy was to make her feel guilty and utterly small and childish, she had a blazing victory. She was aware of the fact that after telling herself the same thing over and over again, it becomes the only possibility.

_He'll never love you the way you want._

_He'll grow tired of you eventually once he finds someone else._

_You're the same as everyone else to him._

Though Natsu's feelings were strong, he was indiscriminate with how he applied them. It was something everyone loved about him, but for a woman in love, greed for unanimous ownership of his affections becomes such a monstrous thing. To not share him with anyone. Lucy's mind went blank. How did she manage to put on this negative armor? When had she become this person? So greedy? So selfish? So needy?

Shame took hold of her and kept her company for another two days before she could muster enough face to leave the apartment and make her way down towards the guild. She didn't walk along the canal as she typically did, fearing her newfound physical weakness from her rapid loss of weight would truly force her into the water. She had examined herself carefully in the mirror before leaving. She had finally come to a decision on what needed to be done and it would be her life's greatest challenge to go through with it.

As she made her way closer to her destination her fears and insecurity wreaked havoc on her. Would he have moved on to someone else by now? Maybe Lisanna? That stung.

Fairy Tail's hall began to grow closer and as it did she felt an incredibly ominous atmosphere hanging over it. A dark foreboding feeling began to grow deep in her stomach. Something definitely wasn't right. Her steps grew faster as she drew nearer. Yes, something was wrong, but she couldn't seem to pinpoint what it was. In the same moment that she pulled open the doors she realized what it was. It was quiet. Absolutely quiet. The usual ruckus that could be heard for blocks was distinctly missing. What had happened while she was away? Her eyes quickly adjusted to what lay inside and she felt a deep-seated fear rising up within her. People's heads were hanging low, depressed and without mirth. The music and dancing that was scattered across the hall was gone, as if it had never existed. What on Earthland was going on here? She scanned the inhabitants with an air of panic, desperately seeking out his uniquely colored hair.

She found him at the bar, nursing a glass by himself. Everyone seemed to have taken a step back from him. Even Happy sat separately, looking as though he was trying to look unhurt by Natsu's lack of attention. Several eyes stopped to stare at her as she drew closer, waiting to see what big scene might play out. As it was already fairly quiet, Natsu barely noticed her presence until she leaned up against the bar, looking at him intensely. He glanced and then did a double-take.

"Lucy," he breathed, sitting up straighter. She felt overwhelming warmth wash through her, as she watched him soak in her presence.

"Hi Natsu," she smiled as casually as she could. "I hear you've been rather busy lately. I wasn't sure you would even be here." _Keep it light_, she reminded herself. Natsu instantly stood up. Did his arms just shake a little bit?

"I... I was just about to go and check the board. I thought I saw a mission…" Lucy could have sworn that she heard Gray squeak in alarm somewhere in the back of the hall.

"No!" she said almost too quickly. He was slightly taken aback as she indicated for him to sit back down as she took a seat next to him. "I mean, please don't leave. I didn't mean that you should go." Natsu complied and gently reclaimed his glass. Lucy took note that he was actually drinking whisky and from the looks of it, he was dissatisfied with its lack of effect as he downed the rest in one go.

"I thought you didn't like whisky."

"I don't," he grinned weakly. "Just thought I'd try it out for once, but seems my dragon tolerance is alive and kicking."

"Natsu…"

"Look, Lucy. I'm trying to be a good friend here, a good nakama, by..."

"Stop it," she whispered with a gentle smile. Natsu looked confused as she had cut off what he was about to say. "Just stop it, Natsu. I don't want you to bend over backwards like this to make things better anymore. Besides, Erza and Gray seem to be needing a pit stop soon," she said, trying to make light of their situation. He didn't seem amused in the least. Natsu was actually fairly perceptive when he needed to be. He had already grasped the heaviness weighing on Lucy even before anyone else would.

"What are you trying to say Lucy?" She felt the first prickling of tears and was about to respond when the doors to the guild slammed open. All eyes turned to stare at the trembling figure as he leaned shakily against the doorframe. It was Jet! No one moved out of sheer shock looking at him. He was covered in cuts, bruises and gashes, as though running through a room of sharp glass. Some were probably too deep to heal without some stitches. They barely recognized him.

"Someone… help… her…" he groaned as he spat blood, collapsing to the ground.

* * *

A/N: Thoughts? Like I said, the other story has some major catching up to do at this point.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thanks guys for your patience. As I mentioned in a note in my other story _Tempting a Dragon_, my finger is out of commission due to an unfortunate run-in with a mandoline slicer... the slicer won. My typing has been slow and life is always busy, so here is the next chapter!

DISCLAIMER: Hiro Mashima created Fairy Tail and all of its characters.

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Makarov called in the guild to gather round as he stood at the front of the hall on stage. Everyone huddled in closely, waiting for their Master to speak. The atmosphere was suffocating. Natsu and Lucy made their way to the front of the crowd, their earlier discord all but forgotten in the wake of this terrible development.

"My children…" Silence. He did not continue. Silence, silence, silence…

"What is it old man!" yelled Natsu finally, patience completely gone. "What happened to Jet? Where're Droy and Levy?" He asked the questions that everyone wished answered. Natsu froze in his tirade as Makarov sent him a look that would have many crawling into a hole.

"Quiet you or I'll squash you like a bug!" Makarov turned back to the topic at hand. "We are dealing with magic of a cataclysmic nature. I should have seen it sooner with Levy, but it seems that something has awakened and taken possession of her. We went to the archives several days ago and found Pantherlily was attacked… by Levy. We wanted to confirm this before saying anything to anyone." The hall erupted into a storm of murmurs.

"He and Jet are both recovering now, but based on what Jet has told us, Droy is still out there. Levy has holed herself up in the East mountains." More murmuring. Makarov raised his hand, requesting silence. "We have looked into what it was that Levy was researching. Though her mind was slowly overtaken by some dark force, she still managed to leave behind a great deal of notes and information for us to follow. It seems we are facing an insurmountable power, one that disappeared centuries ago due to its horrendous nature. It is called Nova Link, a magic created by the Crynthians for the sole purpose of stealing the life force of anyone who came in contact with their Trinity Maiden, and Levy was selected by some remnant magic left by the ancient people in hopes of being revived once again. We don't know much about how it works, but she must be approached with extreme caution. That is why I have personally selected a small group to stop this from going any further." Everyone glanced at one another, already guessing who was selected for this task, and it did not come as a surprise when Makarov announced the names, looking at each individual.

"Erza, Natsu, Gray, Wendy, Gajeel…" Makarov blinked and looked around. "Gajeel? Where's Gajeel?" All eyes sought out the iron dragon slayer. It was a shock that he wasn't razing the hall to the ground with his foul temper especially since this involved Levy. The search was quickly interrupted.

"I'll go," said Lucy firmly. Wandering eyes landed on her. She was slightly irked to see that many were looks of disbelief. Come on, was she that bad? "I won't stand by while one of my best friends is being held captive." She saw Natsu move out of the corner of her eye to object, but she ignored him by cutting off whatever it was he was going to say. "I'm going whether you approve or not, Master." Silence… it extended far longer than anyone would have expected.

"What, I'm sorry, did you say something my dear? Your boobs were bouncing a little bit." Lucy nearly fell over with shock.

"Stop looking at them then!" she yelled. Seriousness resettled. "I'm going!" she said with finality. Her team, with the exception of one member, welcomed her with big grins.

"It wouldn't be the same without you, Luce," said Gray. "Welcome back!"

"As long as I don't have to carry you up the mountain I'm ok with it! You're so heavy…" added Happy. Erza nodded approvingly as she turned to address the matter of pulling her large wagon of luggage up the side of a mountain. Lucy swung her fist around threateningly as Happy flew just outside of her grasp. Charle stood informing Wendy that she too would be in attendance. Happy paused in his attempts to dodge Lucy to give a jovial fist pump upon hearing his fellow exceed would be joining them. Lucy took the opportunity to tackle the little blue cat and put him in a headlock her Edolas counterpart would have been proud of. Throughout all of this, Natsu remained silent and brooding, glowering at the blonde.

"I don't like it," he grumbled under his breath. Erza suddenly appeared from behind him, also looking at Lucy as she switched her headlock to stretching out the cat's cheeks.

"Like it or not, Natsu, she is still a part of this team, despite your attempts at keeping her at a distance. No amount of time will change that fact. Even if you are avoiding her…"

"That's not what I've been doing, or more like what I didn't mean to do…" Natsu said weakly, feeling at even more of a loss than before.

* * *

_/Flashback/ (reference _Tempting a Dragon_)_

_After his odd conversation with Gajeel, Natsu contemplated the iron dragon slayer's words of advice. 'Commitment. Show her some.' And again his mind was thrown into a whirlwind of confusion. To be honest, this was probably the longest and most consistent bout of thought wrangling in which Natsu had ever participated. 'Commitment,' huh? He had always thought he showed his commitment like a badge on his shoulder, but as time went on, Natsu began to realize that the kind of commitment that Gajeel was referring to was not the same type of commitment he showed his nakama. It was the mystery of the 'other' kind that had Natsu stumped. It wasn't until later he overheard a conversation between Mirajane and Juvia that it started to dawn on him, or at least what he thought this 'other' commitment could be._

_"Gray does tend to dodge you a lot, doesn't he?" Mira said with a touch of regret for her friend, the water mage. Juvia merely shrugged and smiled, absolutely twitter-pated. _

_"Gray-sama may be like that, but it is his wonderful qualities that Juvia just can't leave alone." Natsu felt his stomach roll as he watched hearts practically float out of the woman's ears._

_"Qualities? Like what?" Mira leaned her elbows on the bar, always looking for an opportunity to swoon over her nakamas' love lives._

_"Gray-sama's strong, kind, has a wonderful body…" Natsu decidedly wished to end his eavesdropping session right then, until Juvia dropped one more quality that caught him by surprise. "And Gray-sama's dependable." Attention diverted back to conversation once again."No matter what the situation may be, Juvia knows Gray-sama's strength and devotion to a mission will always pull through, no matter the situation."_

_Natsu felt a blood vessel twitch in his temple. He had those qualities too! Why couldn't Lucy see it? Lightbulb! Every single one of them went on in the rooms upstairs._

_"That's it!" Everyone within hearing range, which was pretty much the entire hall, stopped their conversations in surprise to stare at Natsu, standing in his victory pose on top of the bar. He had battled out the problem and found a solution. He would just do more to increase his dependability, that'll get Lucy to want to be with him again!_

_Without further hesitation, Natsu left a trail of smoke behind him as he sped towards the mission board, and grabbed up the first job he saw without reading it. He proceeded to beeline towards the door while simultaneously grabbing a hold of the back of Gray's pants and Erza's collar, both too stunned to react._

_"Mira! We're taking this mission!" Then the three were gone. From that day forward, they continuously were in and out of the hall for weeks._

_/End Flashback/_

* * *

Erza stared at him with wide eyes as realization began to set in. She had been mistaken.

"So that's what happened," she whispered. Natsu merely nodded silently as he found he was right back at square one. His plan to impress Lucy did not work because she wasn't there to see his dedication to the team and being serious with the jobs. That's where he had gone wrong. Perhaps having her come along to save Levy would make up for that mistake. On the other hand, a recent development of protectiveness had blossomed over the last several weeks and the idea of her being in imminent danger made his stomach turn into a lead ball.

"There isn't time to waste! Let's go!" Gray yelled out his rallying cry. Within a moment's notice, Erza had her signature overly stuffed wagon of unnecessarily large items, or things she referred to as her just-in-case items. Lucy glanced at Natsu, acknowledging he had been staring at her nonstop since she had announced she was coming along. He probably was none too pleased to find she had volunteered to go, but the thought of Levy being in danger and that she had not been there to help sent her conscience into spasms. If anything happened to her friend, she would never forgive herself, especially since it was her wallowing in her own self-pity that had kept her in the dark for so long. Dodging something Natsu was about to say, she grabbed hold of Erza and Wendy's arms, pulling them towards the exit with a big smile.

"What are we waiting for? You heard Gray!" Natsu watched as she took off, feeling as though this was a recurring pattern that they had fallen into, her avoiding him by using mingling with others as a pretense. Slowly, he brought up the tail as the strongest team in Fairy Tail made its way out to rescue their nakama.

Lisanna watched sadly as Natsu left through the doors, as it seemed, forever. The thought of it clenched itself around her heart and squeezed hard enough to make her gasp. Mira shot her a quick worried glance before leaning in to break Lisanna's staring contest with the door.

"Lisanna, what's wrong?"

"Mira-nee…" She tried horribly to hide her distress by smiling shakily. "It's noth…"

"Don't say it's nothing. I know you better than that." Lisanna let out a sigh. It's true, Mira knew when her little sister was lying, something that never seemed to work out in her favor.

"Natsu is gone."

"Yes," Mira said cautiously. "We all just watched them walk out the doors."

"No, I mean, he's gone from me. It's like I don't matter to him anymore." Recognition settled into Mira's eyes and then pain for her sister.

"Oh, Lisanna. It's not that you don't matter anymore, it's just that…"

"He's with Lucy now, I know that, but I feel like there are so many unresolved things for us to talk about. I just… I just need to know."

"Lisanna, don't…" It was too late. Her younger sister stood determinedly and began making her way towards the door Natsu and his team had just exited. It was her older sister's hand that stopped her briefly.

"Lisanna," the gentleness was gone and instead there was a firmness Mira only reserved for times when she was completely against something Lisanna was about to do. "Those two are still working things out. Right now is not the time to throw yourself into the mix." Her sister yanked away from her.

"And that's exactly why I need to get my answers now, before it's too late!" With that, Lisanna exited the guild, decidedly following the recently departed team until nightfall. Then she would have her talk with Natsu. Even her sister's orders to stop and turn around would not stop her. Her fear of her inevitable rejection would not stop her. She would end this once and for all. Who could blame a woman who wanted closure?

* * *

"Once we find Droy, we need to administer first aid," said Erza gravely as they prepared some semblance of a plan.

"Do you think he'll be able to tell us where Levy is?" asked Lucy quietly as she huddled up and hugged her knees to her chest in an attempt to stay warm. The higher they went the colder it was getting and the night air wasn't helping. Natsu sat purposely across the fire from her, not approaching any closer than necessary. It was not lost on Lucy in the least and she kept telling herself it was for the best.

Everyone silently wondered if he was even alive at this point.

"I hope Droy is all right," said Wendy with a quiver in her voice. Lucy placed a comforting hand on the young girl's shoulder as a heaviness settled on them, each lost in their own thoughts. Natsu took that moment to stand and stretch, announcing with little decorum about needing to take a leak. Nonchalantly, he placed both hands behind his head and marched off lazily into the surrounding trees. He felt her eyes on his back as he left the circle of fire that they all sat hunched around.

After taking several turns, he walked several paces off from the campsite. When he was sure that no one was following him, he strode further on with a renewed purpose, rooting her out. He was smelling her for the last several miles, but for some reason she remained out of sight. There had to be a reason for it.

"Lisanna!" Natsu called keeping his voice low just in case. There was no answer at first. "Lisanna!" he said louder. A twig snapped and he spun around to see her slowly coming out from behind a nearby tree.

"What are you doing there? Why don't you come join us?" Natsu said in confusion. He had been trying to figure it out since he realized she was not coming out of hiding.

"Because I wanted to talk to you… alone." Natsu's mouth twisted up in confusion.

"Ok, but I don't see why we can't talk with the others there." Lisanna looked down as she meekly rubbed her upper arm. Natsu paused and looked at her with a fresh perspective. "Is… is it because of Lucy?" he asked hesitantly. She finally stopped examining the ground and looked him directly in the eyes.

"Do you love her?" The question nearly killed her as it tore from her mouth. Despite everything that had happened with Lucy, no one had actually come out and asked him that question and it took him by surprise. He found it even more disconcerting that it was Lisanna who had asked him.

"I… I don't know," he said. "She's special to me." Her arms dropped to her sides as she stepped forward, moving closer to him. He tensed. He had nothing to fear from Lisanna, his childhood friend and confidant.

"That's not the same as love though, Natsu. Aren't I special to you?" Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes and she cursed them.

"Yes, of course you are, but…"

"Would you be upset if I found someone as well? Would it make you jealous?" Natsu knew instantly that it would make him quite jealous, but nothing in comparison to the lack of reason that possessed him at the very thought of Lucy in another's arms. She did not wait for an answer as she took another hesitant step towards him. "Would you melt in my arms if I were to kiss you?" Her arms gently encircled his neck. A rock shifted down a slope in the distance and his head swung around to see who had spotted them, but his attempt to turn away was instantly sabotaged as Lisanna forced his face back. Their lips met with a painful crash as she took advantage of Natsu's stunned state. She gained a firmer hold around his neck, as she felt his hands rest against her back, not sure what to do.

Natsu's mind went blank. No doubt that this kiss was nice and heartfelt. It conveyed Lisanna's feelings perfectly and for a brief moment he tasted her, but the moment he tried he pulled back. His body rejected it completely. She wasn't Lucy. It wasn't the same at all. It paled in comparison to the absolute burning fire that erupted in him whenever he kissed Lucy like that. No, this wasn't right at all. Gently, but firmly he pushed her back just far enough away to give him some room.

"Lisanna…" She smiled sadly and placed a finger over his lips, cutting off whatever it was that he was going to say to her.

"Don't, I already know. I just needed to confirm it for myself. For so long I thought about you, even in Edolas, but I see now." He realized in that moment that he had also thought of her constantly, but it was a grief that would not rest. It was a sadness that overwhelmed him at the very thought of any of his close friends dying. But in the same breath, he saw that Lisanna had held a special place in his life, but not in place of Lucy. Lucy never replaced Lisanna and Lisanna never replaced Lucy. There simply was no comparison.

"If any of my nakama were to get hurt or leave me, it would be really painful," he conceded. "But… if Lucy ever left me, I'm afraid I would actually stop breathing." It was the most honest thing he had ever said to her and as painful as it was, it was as if she had suddenly been released from some invisible vice. She was free, finally.

"Natsu, that's love. You love Lucy." It was as if his body came to understand this before he did. He hadn't even intended to grin from ear to ear, but it seemed his face had other ideas. His body was screaming to announce this revelation to the world. It bubbled up like an endless fountain, flowing out of him in abundant waves. Finally, it caught up with him completely and all he could manage was a grin as he swung Lisanna into the air and back down for a back breaking hug. Her eyes momentarily bugged out as she laughed tearfully, never seeing him so giddy before. Then came the idiotic laughter, it was unstoppable as he was so happy because now, yes NOW, he knew what he needed to do. With this endless feeling that had finally taken hold of him, he could do anything, include convincing Lucy to stay with him, forever. The word brought on another bout of laughter and another supersonic spin in the air for Lisanna. By the time she was back on the ground she was dizzy and had to sit down to stop the spinning.

"Shouldn't you go tell her how you feel then?" Natsu grinned and nodded enthusiastically as he took off into the trees.

Lisanna was left standing alone, under the moonlight, unable to move. A feeling of emptiness seemed to fall in on her as she stared up at the moon. Her moment was interrupted as Natsu came flying back to give her another huge hug.

"Thanks Lisanna. I don't know what I would do without you!" he said warmly. She found herself smiling back at him once again as the darkness was driven away by Natsu's warmth; the warmth that all of his nakama loved and in that moment, she knew she was going to be all right.

* * *

A/N: **Please R&R!** Hope you all didn't hate Lisanna too much by the end. I personally don't hate her, but I did find her sudden reappearance a bit irksome. Definitely added a bit more dimension I guess to the whole thing and she ended up serving a purpose anyway.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Yay! Finally! That's all I'm gonna say on that.

DISCLAIMER: Mashima's.

* * *

Erza waited another minute before she motioned for Lucy to move closer to her, wanting to speak privately. It was strange behavior for the outspoken exquip mage, so the stellar mage quickly got up to comply. The red-head looked apologetic as she relayed her previous conversation with the fire dragon slayer before they left the guild.

"So, he wasn't avoiding me?" Lucy said breathlessly.

"No, and I'm sorry I misunderstood what was going on. He has been trying to show you how committed he is to you in his own stupid way." The blond stood processing this new information in silence. For a moment, Erza wondered if she had somehow managed to fall asleep with her eyes open. Just as she was about to shake her awake, Lucy stood up abruptly.

"I need to go. I'll be right back," she said as casually as possible to the other curious members. Gray smiled crookedly as he flopped down onto his opened bedroll with his hands tucked behind his head.

"No she won't," he mumbled under his breath. It was the whistle of a sword that warned him to pull his head in like a turtle. His widened eyes looked shakily at the Titania.

"Don't be crude," she said quite demurely as she turned to polish her armor.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Lucy for her part was doubtful at the very least. This didn't necessarily mean anything, but the fact he had singled her out so drastically in order to make things work between them, it made her pause in her early assumption that Natsu didn't love her. The more she thought about it the more she realized she couldn't imagine Natsu openly admitting his feelings for her, it just wasn't his style. His actions always spoke louder than words ever could and she was somewhat disappointed in herself for not taking this into account before she sent him packing. In her defense, their relationship had gone through a complete upheaval over the course of a matter of days. Perhaps her reaction was natural, but even so, what mattered was what was she going to do about it now?

The first thing she needed to do was talk to him, clear the air, start from scratch. All of her insecurities had nearly been laid to rest by the time she stumbled across a vision of his pink head of hair in the distance. He seemed distracted by something but she approached slowly, not wanting to disturb his privacy as he had mentioned something about going to the bathroom. Finally, she paused to huddle behind a large rock on a slope. His back was to her, but she could see that he wasn't doing what he claimed was his objective. In fact, from that angle, it looked as though he was talking to someone. The stark contrast of her white hair to his was all-telling. It froze her in her tracks. She couldn't hear a word they were saying, but the body language was all there. Lisanna took one step towards him, then another.

Move you damn idiot! She kept screaming at him in her head. Why don't you move?! It was something out of a nightmare as she saw those pale arms lift up to embrace him around the neck and still he stood stalk still. Natsu what are you doing? You said I was the only one you'd do that with. Over and over she felt the betrayal unfold before her very eyes. It had to be a bad dream, a nightmare. In her complete state of shock, her foot shifted slightly, knocking loose a pebble. No human ear would have heard it, except maybe… She stared, horrified as Natsu stopped to look at her only to be thrown into a fairly involved lip-lock with Lisanna.

No… No no no no no no no! What made it worse was she saw his hands hold her back. They moved up to wrap around her waist. Whether it was her imagination or not, from afar, she was watching Natsu embrace Lisanna and her worst nightmare was realized.

She only vaguely remembered fleeing with her eyes completely filled to their limit with unshed tears. She desperately tried to hold in her sobs so as not to let Natsu hear her exit. She just had to get away, as far away as possible; to Edolas if necessary. There was no way back there, but just for this reason, she would find a way. She would find a way to the moon if it meant escaping this pain. Finally, after collapsing from the sheer effort of not falling apart within earshot of Natsu, she found herself near a stream in a bed of grass.

Lucy needed someone, or something. Anyone, anything! Her cry rang out only to be suddenly muted by a pair of lips. That bastard had found her! Well she wasn't going to give herself willingly to him, never again! She struggled violently only to realize it was not Natsu who held her, but Loke. The sheer shock of it forced her into stillness. Loke pulled back with an infuriated expression.

"I'll kill him," he hissed. "Whatever it takes. I'll kill the bastard." It's too much. It's just too much. The pain of losing Natsu and this sudden development, it all came crashing down on her. And then just as quickly, it all drained away, her sorrow and pain evaporated, leaving nothing but an empty vessel. Her head of its own accord fell to lean against Loke's shoulder, half-heartedly embracing him back, seeking only some form of warmth.

"Loke," was all she could muster. His hands rubbed slow, comforting circles over her back, waiting for her heart to stop racing. The silence was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Lucy effectively feeding the grass.

"Ugh, again, Lucy?" cried Loke in shock as he helped her lean over the moving water instead. After a few moments of hurling she rinsed her mouth out thoroughly, always hating the aftertaste of this repugnant activity.

"I'm sorry, I don't know how much longer this will go on for. Maybe you should just go, I'm fine now…" The firmness of his hands on her shoulders tightened noticeably, forcing her to look at him. What she found nearly left her breathless. He had removed his shades and he was peering at her intensely.

"I'm not going to leave you again, not like last time. I won't ever leave you, Lucy." She was shocked to say the least as her spirit pulled her into yet another embrace that would rival Natsu's. Grant it, nothing would ever beat that embrace, but Loke's was making a good go at it. It wasn't backed by the kind of power Natsu had in his, the sheer desire. This was softer in comparison and maybe a little sweeter, completely in contrast to the flames that licked at her feet and made their way upwards. Slowly, he slid his tongue languidly along the bottom of her lip as her eyes began to drift closed. She felt the low, angry rumbling in the pit of her stomach. This wasn't going to work she realized just as another kick from her stomach forced her to pull back and heave once again over the stream.

Once the spasms had ceased again, she felt Loke's warm hands holding her hair back for her as he whispered small comforts over her. She smiled at him affectionately from her hunched position. Suddenly, from behind them she felt a chill run down her spine and she knew before Loke who it was.

"Loke! Get down!" Quickly she shoved him away from her as hard as she could. The well placed stream of fire lanced past them to hit an innocent tree on the other side of the clearing. Two sets of very wide eyes looked up in shock as a walking fireball loomed at the edge of the trees. It's blazing gaze burned holes into Loke's.

"Get away from my mate!" If Lucy hadn't already known it was Natsu, she could have sworn it was someone else giving out the order. Wait a minute… m-m-mate?!

"Natsu…" Lucy attempted to reason with him. There was no hesitation on his part.

"Karyu no Tekken!" Without any warning, the infuriated dragon slayer shot forward with incredible speed, pinning a solid hit on Loke's cheek. It was a blow meant to cripple, maim, or even kill. Loke was unprepared for such an onslaught by the man who claimed never to attack another nakama unwarranted. The fists continued to fly at him from one direction after another. It was his years of fighting that finally forced his body into a defensive stance.

"Natsu! Stop!" Lucy ran forward, but the flames rising off the man's body were too intense for her to get even remotely close. Natsu cried his rage to the heavens, with his legs spread wide and fists held threateningly at his waist. "Natsu!" She got a mouthful of heat, choking her into near silence. Shakily she grabbed hold of Loke's key as her other hand guarded weakly against the heat.

Loke stood firmly, his own rage building. No one was allowed to hurt his master and that included this bumbling fool, and if it was necessary to face him and take Lucy away from him forever, he'd gladly do it. He would burn to ash before he allowed Natsu to hurt her again.

"Regulus Punch!" Light engulfed his fist as he drove it home, repaying him for the previous injury. Natsu flew back straight into yet another innocent tree. The area would be leveled at this rate. If the trees could have moved they would have fled half way across Fiore by now. The fire dragon slayer lay back against the splintered remains of the fallen victim, wiping sadistically at his lip as it seeped blood.

"Now I'm fired up," he growled his signature phrase. Standing, pieces of wood and dirt fell from the folds of his clothing as his stance widened offensively. He cracked his knuckles as he rolled his head round. Lucy was rendered speechless. His face had the traced outlines of scales scattered down towards his neck. This was bad… bad bad bad…

"No!" cried Lucy uselessly. "Stop! Please!"

"Karyu no Kagitsume!" Natsu's legs burst into flame as he sped towards his target. Loke was ready for it this time as he dodged repeatedly the flaming lethal limbs. He waited for his opening. There! Now!

"Regulus Impact!" The light gathered in a blink of an eye, forming the lion head just as it connected with Natsu's chest. Somehow, as is always the case with Natsu, he endured and shot through at a more than stunned spirit. No one had ever come through that unfazed before. His shock lasted only a moment before Natsu landed yet another fiery punch on his other cheek followed by a jarring kick to his ribs. One blow fell after another as Loke returned in like.

Lucy was completely immobile, unsure of what she could do. They weren't stopping. They weren't stopping! Loke was too far gone in this battle to be ordered back through the gate.

"Natsu! Loke! Please, I'm begging you, stop!" A light haze pulled down its curtain around her vision. She resisted it and forced her way through. "Please!" The curtain persisted and engulfed her.

Loke's focus diverted back to his master.

"Lucy!" It was too late, Natsu had unleashed another flurry of blows. "Natsu! It's Lucy! Something is wrong!" The dragon slayer wasn't listening.

"LUCY!" the anguished scream pierced through the skies and even forcing Natsu to pause to look for his mate. His mate… mate… mate…Lucy! It finally pierced the inferno that had become his world.

He felt dread settle into every bone in his body. Where was she? Was she hurt? Oh gods, had he hurt her? Finally his eyes landed on her prone figure, the flames surrounding his body dissipating immediately. Within moments he was at her side, lifting her head as it lolled from one side to the other.

"Lucy!" He barely acknowledged Loke as he drew near as well. "Get away from her," Natsu growled. His demand was met with silence. He glanced over his shoulder and did a double take. Loke stood prone with fear radiating from every crevice of his body.

"What's wrong with her?" he said under his breath. The fact that he had lost track of his master during his fight with Natsu, weighed heavily on him. A spirit should never disobey or bring to harm its master. It was replaying all over again, his fatal mistake with Karen.

"Loke, go back, I'll take care of her." Natsu said persistently as he caressed Lucy's cheek. The spirit didn't move, torn between the promise he had made her and reality. Reality was, he could not be with her all the time. Reality was, he had to leave her over and over again and it pained him like nothing he had ever felt before.

"Do it! I can't concentrate as long as you're here! Go! She ordered it herself didn't she?" The Lion's gate spirit hesitated and glanced from Natsu to the stellar mage rapidly. Natsu knew, with Lucy out of commission his existence in the human realm was limited. "If you don't go, I'll end up ripping your throat out! I'll take care of her, I promise."

"Don't let anything happen to her Dragneel, or you'll have me to answer to," he growled as his body began to dissipate into the air.

"You don't have to tell me that," Natsu said vehemently as he scanned her face. His breath was coming faster as he lowered his ear to her mouth. She was breathing. Gently, he rested his hand over her neck and felt for her pulse. It was fast, but steady.

"Lucy," he said quietly, afraid anything louder might send her into a turn for the worst. Her eyes squished together tightly. "Lucy," he said more persistently.

"Mmm?" Her lids lifted grudgingly before closing again to rally for another attempt. "Natsu?"

"Are you okay?" he said anxiously as he cradled her in his arms.

"Wh-what happened?"

"You fainted."

"I what?!" Lucy shot up only to pause to hold her head to keep the world from spinning. "Fainted? I don't believe it… Where's Loke?" She attempted to look around for her spirit but immediately came up short as Natsu's grip tightened painfully. "Natsu?"

"It doesn't matter." It all came flooding back, everything.

"Let me go," she said shakily.

"No." It was a simple reply and it sent a quiver through her.

"Natsu, I'm leaving the guild." Now was the most inappropriate time for her to tell him this. It was by far the worst moment to break the news to him, but in the same moment, it was the best. His grip did not change. He didn't respond in any way. What did she expect? Some resistance? Perhaps, but certainly not a complete lack of response. "I was going to tell you earlier, but…" His arms constricted, yanking her to his chest. With her ear finally against his breast, she could hear it. His heartbeat was racing and from what she could gather, it wasn't from the battle just now, it was too erratic for that.

"You can't go." It took several moments of decoding for her brain to comprehend what it was he was saying and her anger came back full force. With a violent shove she tried to push away from him unsuccessfully.

"You don't get a say! You don't get a say in any of it, you bastard!" she saw her words were cutting him deeply, but she couldn't stop herself. "I don't care how dense you make yourself to be on the matter, but you can't be with two women at the same time!" Lucy's grief hit a new high as she threw her fists against him over and over again as her memory replayed the love scene she had stumbled upon in the woods. "You can't have me and Lisanna!"

Natsu heard the name and everything seemed to fall into place. His eyes softened as he grabbed her wrists firmly, ceasing her onslaught.

"But I don't want Lisanna, I want you Lucy."

"I don't care! I won't do this anymore! I can't! I'll leave and never look back. I'll forget Fairy Tail! I'll forget _you_!" Natsu cut her off afraid that she might hurt herself by thrashing around even more. It seemed only natural he do it with a tried and true method; by kissing her senseless.

It had been weeks since he had the taste of her on his lips and the sudden assault of pleasure it brought him to hold her again, despite her resistance, was mind-blowing. Her thrashing continued until his hand threaded its way through her hair and held her even more firmly against him. Once resistance had drained away, he pulled back to look at her with eyes burning with clarity.

"You don't get it, Lucy. If anyone else said they wanted to leave the guild, I'd let them go even if it was painful, but you're different. You're the only one who isn't allowed to leave. Ever," he said with emphasis.

"Even Lisanna?" she said angrily, attempting to trip him up. His sincerity did not falter in the least.

"Even Lisanna. I don't care if you hated me forever, but I'd keep you here all to myself and never let you leave." His thumb gently traced her cheek bone down her jaw to her lips. His eyes ran over her forehead, her hair, the place where her eyelids met at the corner of her eye, the arc of her ear, the dents on the sides of her nose, he took inventory of everything. Lucy was speechless, not able to understand what he was saying at first.

"So you see, Lucy. I can't let you leave me or the guild. I just love you too damn much." The word sent her head spiraling. Love? Did he just say that word and in the correct context? Impossible, Natsu doesn't say such sentimental things. This had to be another dream.

To prove it wasn't, Natsu slowly sealed his lips back over hers and coaxed her to respond. With all of the love he had only now discovered for her, he convinced her to accept him. He gently pulled back one curtain of armor after another. As he held her, he finally understood the extent of her pain as one layer after another appeared before him and each one was tenderly removed. Finally, that last silken curtain that housed his Lucy and everything that made him want to keep her forever stood before him. His hand grasped her waist and pulled her against the length of his body as they sprawled out across the grass.

The silk curtain fell away with a slight gust of wind and then, she was his. Her arms wrapped their way around him, clinging tightly. Natsu encountered random bursts of uncertainty and fear, but he rooted them out and replaced them with all of the feeling he could muster. The heat of his emotions was expressing himself better than he ever could in words. His mate… _His_ and _only_ his… forever.

Lucy was defenseless. In such a brief moment he had disarmed her and laid her out in her vulnerability and despite everything they had been through, all she could do was silently let her tears fall as he kissed down her neck to the V in her shirt. Was it over? Was the battle for Natsu over? The very thought made her cry even harder as he slowly stroked her through her clothing, down her legs only to grasp one under the knee to pull it up. Natsu carefully wedged his own leg between hers as he soaked in this woman. Her fingers weaved their way into his hair as he magically found access to her breasts and she gasped. It was heavenly; after craving it for so very long, he was finally here with her and he was all hers.

"Natsu," she gasped as he rolled her nipple around gently in his mouth. He responded by flicking his tongue against her and releasing her breast only to reclaim her lips.

It took a very long moment for them to realize the sounds of their names being called out could be heard approaching very quickly. And when that moment finally was recognized it was too late. The entire gang stood at the clearing, all with identical looks of embarrassed shock. In a very much delayed reaction, Erza slowly placed her hand over Wendy's bugged out eyes. Happy blushed and covered his mouth with a lewd grin.

"They lllllllike each other." Charle glowered at Happy and remained stubbornly quiet about the whole matter. There simply weren't any words for this situation in her eyes.

"Shut up you damn alley cat!" growled Lucy as she scrambled to right her clothing and suddenly found that she had no buttons to fasten. She sent a death glare at Natsu and was left clinging the fabric together as her face turned new shades of red. Natsu, on the other hand, was sending death glares at Gray. The only viable person to vent his frustration on and Gray knew it right away. Not making any sudden movements, he very slowly turned on his heel and lifted his foot to make a quick exit.

"Hold it, you walking icicle," Natsu growled as he tackled his frienemy to the ground. "That's twice now! Twice!" The scuffle that ensued went ignored.

"We heard an explosion and trees coming down," said Wendy finally. The earlier shock was gone, but the blush was still dusting her cheeks as the image was forever branded in her young mind. Lucy knew immediately what they were referring to and laughed nervously.

"Yeah, everything's fine, there was just a bit of a misunderstanding," she offered as an explanation. At that moment, she realized there would be further misunderstandings as long as there was discord between Natsu and Loke. They would have to come to some kind of reconciliation.

"That was quite a misunderstanding," Erza interjected.

"Well…" Another tree was down for the count as Gray was sent flying into it. In response he double-backed at Natsu and went in for round two. Erza rolled her eyes and pressed two fingers to the bridge of her nose, a definite sign of a headache. Lucy thought it wise to leave the area as quickly as possible and steered the exceeds and young girl, claiming to dig out another shirt to replace the one that was sacrificed to Natsu. They were followed by the sound of two heads cracking together and then the victims being dragged along behind the Titania.

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A/N: Please R&R! Thanks guys!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Please reference the Fairy Tail wiki online if you want specifics on attacks. Hopefully it won't be overly necessary though. Enjoy!

Also, the sounds of crashing rocks, are Gajeel on his rampage.

DISCLAIMER: Fairy Tail and its characters are Hiro Mashima's.

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That evening another disagreement had erupted within Fairy Tail's strongest team, well, more between the team's one and only couple. The over protectiveness Natsu had been nursing was starting to irk his proclaimed mate and she made it quite clear she would not be leaving the team for safety. The argument inevitably ended with Lucy and Natsu sleeping at opposite sides of the fire that evening and everyone else in the surrounding area felt the coldness radiating from the two no matter how close they got to the fire. Sleep would not be had that evening though as they were plagued by the sounds of rocks falling, or was it that they were being crushed? They weren't sure, but it was distracting enough to keep anyone from getting any surmountable sleep. Finally, having enough of the noise, Gray rolled out of his bed and scratched his head in irritation.

"What is with these mountains!" he growled.

"Shh!" Charle said abruptly as somehow, Wendy had managed to fall asleep. Grumbling something about plucking some cat wings and frying them, Gray stood up to try to stretch his legs. Maybe he could get some rest after a quick walk to calm the senses. *Crash* If those damn rocks ever stopped falling!

Gray wandered for quite some time, feeling wearier as he had hoped. The amount of distance traveled in the amount of time given was pretty incredible even for them. He hadn't gotten a good night's rest in… well, he couldn't remember the last time he had some time to himself. Juvia was getting pissed too. He could feel it every time he wandered into the guild and effectively ignored her. It wasn't as if he was doing it completely on purpose but having to explain to her he was actually trying to aid his frienemy in his attempt to win Lucy back was difficult to explain. He knew that Lucy and Natsu were having some problems and deep down he watched carefully, hoping for some kind of opening for himself, but the more he watched Natsu the more he realized that this was the real thing and there was no room for him, at least not for Lucy. Juvia, for him, had always been a superficial entertainment and as horrible as it was, it boosted his ego a little knowing that she would always praise the ground that he walked on, but at some point he simply didn't know how to deal with her affections. Thick and thin wasn't it? He knew deep in the back of his mind that Juvia would stand by him even in the worst of times and he could always depend on her, but did that mean that he felt anything for her? It was a question he had been contemplating for a long time and the recent attentions towards her from his magic rival, Leon, made it feel like he was on a time crunch to come to some kind of conclusion.

His deeper thoughts were interrupted by the sudden snapping of twigs as several rocks were knocked loose followed by rustling in the surrounding brush. Gray fit his fist into his palm, preparing for any attack that would come flying from the bushes, only to pause to see a body fall limply from the foliage.

"Droy!" Dropping his attack stance, he leapt into action. The man had clotted wounds all over him and was barely responding to Gray's voice.

"Hang in there! Wendy! Everyone! Come now!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. It felt like an eternity before he felt the warm comfort wash through him, knowing his nakama were with him. Gently, Wendy placed her hand on his shoulder, pushing him back so she could assess the damage.

Wendy always hated seeing someone in pain and on the death's doorstep. She never could bring herself to look in their eyes whenever something like this fell into her lap. But now was different, this was a nakama from Fairy Tail. Droy's eyes rolled in his sockets, delirious with blood loss and lack of water.

Very gently, as if handling a baby bird, she cradled his head in her lap and held her palms over him, seeing what she could do.

So many vessels were broken. It would take hours to reconnect them all. Sweat broke out on her forehead as the gravity of the task ahead of her bore down on her. Charle's comforting paw rested on her shoulder, breaking her concentration briefly.

"Charle…"

"It's all right, I'm here with you," she said encouragingly. Wendy smiled. She could always count on Charle even if she could be a bit prickly sometimes.

"L-Levy…" Droy's broken voice came out hoarsely at first, but gained some traction with some effort. "Levy's at the top. Gajeel came. Looking for her. Save her. Please…" His words were broken, but the message was clear. Levy was in grave danger.

Erza was the one who made the announcement that they would move out immediately with the exception of Wendy and Charle. They could be at the location Droy attempted to indicate before he had passed out within just a few hours if they moved quickly. This new development brought forth the original argument between Natsu and Lucy, slowing them drastically.

"Go back! We are strong enough for this," said Natsu. "Just go back already!"

"I'm not leaving this mountain without Levy," she stated determinedly. Natsu rolled his eyes skyward. By the gods this woman was stubborn! "What is your problem?! Am I in the way?"

"No…"

"Do you not want me to be around anymore?"

"No…"

"Do you think I'm too weak?" she yelled, trying to fathom why he was insisting she leave his side.

"Because I don't want you to get hurt!" he finally blurted. Erza, Gray, and Happy pretended to not be a part of the conversation in the least. Their pace noticeably sped up as they climbed the subtle path, leaving the lovers to hash out their problems. Lucy slowed as she stared at Natsu's back. He had refused to look at her with his admonition.

"I'm sorry to disappoint, but that's not your decision to call," she finally responded. Natsu looked over his shoulder and glared at her. And I mean, truly glared.

"It's dangerous, Lucy."

"Natsu, do us all a favor. Concentrate on the mission and be quiet!" Lucy growled as she passed the shocked dragon slayer.

"Amen!" yelled Gray as he scaled a particularly steep rock face. Natsu made a memo to beat the ice mage senseless after all this was said and done.

The rest of the journey up the mountain was tedious and difficult as the terrain got steeper with every step, but they were determined to make it to the top. Levy was there, no doubt about it. As they were nearing the top a sudden rumble sent waves throughout the surrounding terrain. They clung anxiously against the rocks, avoiding loosened boulders as they plummeted to the grounds below.

"What was that?!" cried Happy as he flew, dodging away from the sudden onslaught of rocks.

"Sounds like it knows we're coming," said Erza as sweat began to run down her temple. The shaking grew more violent as it sounded like an entire artillery had been released at the top of the mountain.

"Not us…" said Natsu as he sniffed the air. "Gajeel! He's already there!" The realization that a nakama was facing this force alone spurred them on faster, striving to reach the top. To them it felt as though hours passed before they finally pulled over the lip of the cliff and down into the alley of rocks, finding the entrance to the cavern Droy had indicated. The doors were wide open. Suddenly, the air began to swirl, round and round. A cyclone formed in an ominous whirlpool above the top of the mountain. Everything seemed to warp and become sucked into the funnel as the clouds, the air, the moonlight; it all was sucked down into the crevice at the top.

"What is that thing?!" yelled Gray as he struggled to maintain his balance against the monstrous updrafts of the cyclone.

"I don't know, but it' can't be good!" yelled Lucy in reply.

The first screaming soul sped by almost unnoticed. Then another, and another and soon the air was filled with angry and sorrowful howls. The wind was so thick with them that they took on the faces of the victims. They circled the drain, as every single one was sucked down into their final demise, whatever that may be.

"Come on! We have to stop it!" Natsu yelled over the wind and screams. His team forced their way forward through the entrance and took in their surroundings. At the end of a very long causeway stood a woman in a long white dress with matching hair. Even from that distance they could see the bright blue eyes. Below was a crumbled figure of a man… Gajeel! Gray and Lucy grabbed hold of Natsu's arms as he instinctively ran to assist his fallen nakama. It would be unwise to charge in without some kind of plan.

"Ah, it looks like my main course has arrived," said the woman with Levy's face. Lucy felt chills run up and down her spine when she realized the one they would fight was none other than her best friend. What had become of her? The body had thinned from lack of nutrition and the cheeks, despite the efforts of the entity to fill in the flesh, were sinking in as well. Oh Levy…

Momentarily the screams of anguish ceased as she levitated herself to the ground, taking a small step off of the platform she occupied.

"I've been waiting for you, fire dragon slayer," she said with a throaty voice. Her eyes looked from one face to another and dismissed them just as quickly. "Shall we get started?" she said with a raised eyebrow.

"Kureha no Yoroi!" Erza's armor exquipped immediately into her black wing armor. Her offensive power soared as she sped forward towards her target with powerful thrusts of her wings. She knew her teammates would support her in this attack as Gray, Natsu, and Lucy did not hesitate with their own attacks.

"Ice Make: Arrows!"

"Karyu no Tekken!"

"Fleuve d'etoiles!"

All of the attacks sped towards the intended target and she had the gall to simply stand there smirking at them all. Gajeel yelled out his protest, but it was too late. The timing of their impacts was impeccable, sending up the surrounding rocks and dirt into the air. A cloud enveloped her, shielding her from sight as everyone waited for the results. Lucy gasped, there she stood as if nothing more than a mere wind had brushed her.

"Are we done throwing our tantrums? Or do I need to hit you on the noses with a newspaper?" she said insolently. Fairy Tail responded by running headlong at her. Her smile widened. "Fools." Her fingers danced in small circles until small glass balls began to form in her palm. As each one appeared she threw it forward, landing on front of each attacker. Gray attempted to reflect the ball off of an ice shield, but instead of bouncing back it exploded into multiple tendrils, seeking out its victim on the other side. He was completely caught off guard as each one snaked in from the edges.

"Ice Make: Sword!" His weapon appeared in his hand as he slashed at the glass-like tentacles.

"What are these things?" he growled. His inattentiveness was quickly taken advantage of as one arm managed to latch onto the back of his neck. Gray's scream gave pause to the others. Lucy had used her fleuve d'etoiles to send the oncoming ball into the cavern below. Natsu and Erza had also managed to somehow discard theirs as well.

"Gray!" screamed Lucy. Levy laughed as she tucked her hair over her ear, a signature move that Gajeel had so loved, now it was being defiled by this… thing.

"You're mine now, Fullbuster." The tentacle began to glow brightly despite his struggles to be released. Ripples could be seen flowing over his body towards his newly acquired attachment.

"What's happening to him?" Natsu growled as he ran to his friend only to be shot back.

"Mmm, that is so tasty! I knew Fairy Tail was a gold mine. Of course, I don't want to be too greedy. I always try to save a little bit for later." The arm dropped Gray's limp body to the ground. Lucy ran and fell to her knees checking to see if he was still breathing. She gave a sigh in relief when she found it labored, but still there.

Natsu was growling low in the back of his throat. His trademark fuse had been struck. Erza's jaw was clenched as she stood staring in shock at Gray. Such a powerful mage could be taken down just like that? This was bad, very bad. If this thing, whatever it was, specialized in sucking the life force out of people, then defense magic would do nothing in ways of protection. It left them little option but to attack with everything they had. That in mind Erza looked to Natsu, sharing in one of their moments of understanding. Take her out in one shot and blast the evil out of Levy.

Erza gathered her energy into one focused point of her lance. It was roiling with her red magic as it increased its magic capacity. Levy raised her eyebrow in amusement.

"What's this? Still won't give up?" Natsu slid his right foot back into an attack position. His hands were raised up, prepared for the next move. Inhaling deeply, he too gathered his magic into his upper body, building and getting ready for their combined attack. And then they were off! Running headlong towards Levy, intent on what needed to be done.

"Karyu no Koen!" The two mages released their power in concert as it spiraled towards Levy, merging into a vortex of destruction. The air split apart to make room for this onslaught. The ensuing explosion shook the walls around them and for a brief moment, Lucy thought the place would cave in on them. Levy's body pulled up high into the air, with mere tendrils of smoke rippling off of the folds of her dress. She smiled down at them.

"My turn." Her head fell back as she inhaled deeply, absorbing the remnants of magic left behind then began to spin her body rapidly. The force of her spinning pushed the magic back out in the form of blades aiming indiscriminately at her opponents. The voices yelled angrily at her to be careful not to hit the three faces. She ignored them as the magic pulsated.

"I'll clip your wings," she said greedily to Erza as the Titania attempted to dodge the blades. Yes, it seemed as though Levy didn't care if the place came down on them. Levy pulled energy from her chest in the form of as sword and went straight for the redhead. Swiping the sword around in an arc, she connected with a newly exquipped sword in the other's hand. They clashed with the sound of thunder. Natsu ran headlong at them, fists and feet blazing as he took a flying leap at the two embroiled in their fight. Levy merely flicked him away into the ground only feet away from Gajeel.

"I'm saving you for later," she stated as her attention landed again on Erza who was dodging as best as she could.

"She's so fast," she mumbled to herself, parrying and guarding. Levy slashed at her midsection and only barely missed.

"Enough of this." Levy suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind a stunned Erza.

"Erza look out!" screamed Lucy. Natsu's head shot up just in time to see the sword slide into his childhood friend's back, protruding out the other end.

"ERZAAAAA!" His anguished cry echoed off of the dubious walls. Levy slowly lowered the two of them back to the platform where she allowed Erza's limp figure to drop to the ground. Natsu scuttled over to her in a very undignified manner, attempting to check for any vital signs. She was still breathing, but her eyes remained wide open, as if frozen in her shock. Upon further inspection he realized there wasn't a physical wound on her.

"What did you do to her?!" he yelled in a rage. Levy examined her nails. Her voice was bored as she replied.

"I simply created a channel for her life force to seep out. My lords will feast on it shortly." That smile… it kept haunting her face, a ghost of the young woman who had originally occupied that body.

"You…You'll pay for this…" Natsu growled quietly under his breath.

"Hmm? And how do you propose that will happen?" She paused long enough to catch a glimpse of an arrow. She ducked her head and caught it along the shaft. "I see I have forgotten a fly." Lucy stood furiously next to her spirit Sagittarius. He had already notched another arrow, aiming for white woman's heart.

"How dare you hurt my friends!" roared Lucy as tears streamed down her face. "Erza, Gray, Jet, Droy, and Levy! Give Levy back to us!" she screamed.

Voices filled the air, whispering in their ancient tongue, inspecting and informing at the same time. Levy lifted her ear to listen to them.

"Oh! Well isn't this a pleasant surprise," she said crookedly, turning her full attention to the blonde stellar mage. Natsu felt his stomach sink into the ground. "You have great potential my dear," she said sweetly, lifting her hand, indicating for Lucy to come closer. Lucy's body suddenly went rigid as it rose up into the air no matter how hard she struggled against this unseen force.

"Lucy-sama! Moshi-moshi!" cried her spirit. Levy glanced at him in annoyance.

"Be gone." The spirit vanished and it left Lucy stunned. Who the hell was this? And what were they dealing with? Slowly, Levy approached her, eyeing her up and down while cupping her chin in thought.

"Yes, I do believe you will be my next vessel."

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A/N: As always, please R&R!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Battle yay! So I guess insert anime battle soundtrack here(^_^) Sorry I get kind of excited while writing battle scenes and get ahead of myself so if it helps just read it slowly I guess... Also I updated Tempting a Dragon to correlate to this chapter as well.

DISCLAIMER: same old, mashima's.

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Lucy sneered at the imposter in front of her.

"And what makes you think I'll do that?"

"Because if you become my vessel, I'll have no other choice but to let this girl go," Levy ran a hand down the length of her own body. "Pity though, it was so nice while it lasted." She turned and winked at Gajeel affectionately. The iron dragon slayer looked as though he was going to be sick.

His body jerked as if he was attempting to get up, but Levy tsked several times as her hand sent him flying back against the boulder.

"Stay." He hissed in pain from the impact. "Good boy."

"Besides, I have been a bit rough on this Levy girl. I don't think I've fed her body in days!" She laughed as if at a very funny joke. "It's a wonder it hasn't crumbled yet!" Lucy's eyes glossed over as her anger shot to a new high.

"Release Levy!" she spat in warning. The other merely crossed her arms confidently.

"Of course, but in exchange for you."

"Lucy! Don't… Argh!" An unseen force slammed into Natsu from behind, effectively burying his face into the ground, cutting off his protests.

"Fine," Lucy blurted without hesitation. "It won't matter because we'll stop you." Levy looked around skeptically at the fallen bodies and scoffed.

"Right, I'm sure that's going to happen." Slowly, she walked closer to Lucy and leaned in. "Then we have a bargain?" Now Lucy hesitated. There was something else going on here, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Turning her head so that Natsu could hear her loud and clear she cried, "Fight her, Natsu! Fight her and show her what the members of Fairy Tail are made of!" Her voice choked off as the force wrapped around her, suffocating her as it entered her mouth and ears. Blue script flowed from Levy's body, sneaking its way over to the stellar mage, levitating over the path. Then it climbed up towards her, greedily clinging to her as it moved closer towards her head. Just as the script made a move to enter her, Levy leaned forward and whispered something into her ear with her token smile.

Lucy's eyes widened as the other's words made impact and tears began to gather at the corner of her eyes. Then the script descended on her and filled her from the outside in. Natsu's enraged screams filled the void. Shaking loose of the weakened hold over him he ran down the causeway, still hoping that he had time to stop this madness, but it was too late. A bright blue light erupted only moments later, blowing him yet again back to where he had started.

"LUCY!" He shielded his eyes briefly from the light, trying to see what had happened. Gajeel was crawling his way towards the women, using every ounce of his strength that was left to get there. Finally, Levy collapsed into his arms just as he arrived. Lucy continued to levitate as she slowly began spinning round and round. Her eyes opened, no longer brown but the chillingly blue orbs that moments ago were Levy's, the hair had grown longer and white as bone. That smile, that cursed smile, spread its way across her face again.

Taking a deep breath she seemed to experiment with the new body.

"Ah, this is so much better! I feel it! The life source is immense in this one!" she cried happily as she came back to the ground examining her hands and legs. "Though, I think I might be in need of a feeding again…"

"Lucy!" Natsu bolted down the path towards his mate only to freeze as she ticked her finger back and forth at him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Something bad might happen to your precious Lucy." Slowly, she drew a light line down Lucy's neck, her meaning became clearer as a shallow cut formed in its place.

"Stop!" He was beyond furious. He was beyond reason. He was literally checking out and letting the dragon take over. The scales began to come back as he took one step and then another, ground was crumbling underneath his feet. Lucy took an involuntary step backwards.

"D-Didn't you hear me? Stay back!" she yelled at him, losing some of her composure for the first time. The switch of vessels had left her meter pretty low and he seemed to be calling her bluff.

"Gajeel, get Levy to the entrance." It was an order, something Natsu only did when he was getting serious. There was little said from the iron dragon slayer as he began to move his own fallen mate to safety. Slowly, Natsu turned and shouted at Happy who was crouched down next to Erza.

"Happy!" Nothing else needed to be said.

"Aye sir!" Seconds later Natsu was airborne. Lucy's cool had returned as she rose up off of the ground to join him.

"Flying will do you no good, dragon slayer. I can beat you grounded or not." Their standoff seemed to go on forever. "What will you do, Natsu? Do you have it in you to lay a hand on your precious mate?" she taunted. He was no longer listening to her.

Instead he lunged forward with perfect synchronization as Happy veered around in a way that was completely unexpected by Lucy. A flaming knee came from behind as he drove it into her upper back, pushing her back down into the ground, attempting to pin her from moving away. The less movement, the less likely she was going to get hurt. He knew Lucy was tough and he'd seen her take a far worse hit than this, but he preferred being on the safe side.

"Lucy wanted me to fight and so I will. If I can't beat you out, I'll burn you out!" he roared. The flame from his knee exploded around his body, driving her further into the path. "Lucy! You also have to fight! Fight her!" Suddenly, Natsu was thrown back through the air by a wave of script only to be quickly stopped by Happy's wings. Slowly, the woman stood up and stared at him.

"Burn me out? I'd like to see you try," she growled as a loose hair flopped down into her eyes. Natsu grinned, feeling the excitement of a challenging battle coming on.

"You asked for it. Karyu no Hoko!" A funnel of flames burst forth from his mouth as Lucy quickly dodged it. In response, she flipped up into the air and landed her heel against Natsu's cheek, driving him back. She gave him little time to recover as her fist plowed its way into his stomach. Laughter burst out of her with every blow she was able to land. And still he refused to throw a punch or kick. He refused to hurt her.

For a moment she was able to catch his arms from behind and swing him headlong into a jagged wall before grabbing hold of his leg only to fling him into another. His head cracked up against a wall as he attempted block a closed fist. The power of it sent his head crashing through rock. As he fought he felt something leaving him, his energy and focus began to waver drastically. Lucy only grinned at him.

"Do you feel it? I'll take it from you slowly so that you can feel every bit of it." With a final roundhouse, she sent him flying back to the causeway.

"You'll never beat me! Just stay down and let me eat your life force. I promise to make it quick." Lucy landed several paces off, looking triumphant as her magic slammed him back into the ground. Natsu and Happy shook as they lay sprawled out on the path, trying to get back up. He paused as a foot landed within his peripheral vision. He saw the leg shake momentarily before stiffening. He followed the limb up to its owner and was shocked to find Gajeel staring at Lucy, fists clenched and teeth grinding.

"Get up," he declared without looking down at Natsu. "I don't like this version of Bunny-girl."

"Gajeel, how…"

"She gave me back my Levy." That's all he said as Natsu saw the magic gathering into his two hands. Natsu was unsteady as he stood up as the battle was beginning to take its toll on him. He found himself resisting the urge to cradle his side, probably a cracked rib.

"We're bringing home our nakama. All of them," Natsu growled out past the pain.

"Fairy Tail never leaves their own behind, they never stop fighting. They never give up." Gajeel's voice carried throughout the cavern.

Suddenly, Erza's voice floated out to them as well. "Even with the odds stacked against us, we overcome our enemies." Natsu and Gajeel glanced over at Erza who was leaning heavily on her sword as the tip dug into the ground. Her breathing was heavy as she fought to use the life force that was left in her.

"We are stubborn and once you piss us off, there's nowhere to hide because we will chase you down until the end of time if necessary," whispered Gray through his pain. He heaved his body up from its prone position. His eyes attempted simply to focus on the ground underneath him. Slowly, he made his way over to Lucy's foot and grabbed hold of it, as weak as he was. She was shocked and tried to yank her foot away, but some ungodly strength kept her within his grip. Happy suddenly appeared, bruised and beaten, grabbing hold of her other foot, gripping tightly as well. She attempted to shake him loose but found him to be too tenacious.

"You can't have Lucy! Who else is going to feed us when we are out of money?" he yelled angrily. "Lucy! Wake up!" cried the little blue cat.

"You… Get off of me!"

"Lucy," Natsu called to her. "You can't stay like that any longer. Come back to Fairy Tail. Come back to me." She was infuriated as she felt a voice inside of her scream in rebellion.

"No!" Her hands clutched at the sides of her head. "No! We had a deal! You can't come out now!" A pained smile spread across her face. "Fine, if that's the way you want it, then I'll take your dragon as payment." In a complete frenzy she pulled her arms together across her chest and began to chant, her script reaching out to Natsu.

He stared unblinking at it as the script floated ever closer. Suddenly, his mouth gaped open and he began to inhale all of it.

"What are you doing?!" yelled Happy.

"That's not fire you idiot!" cried Gray. Natsu did not listen as he continued to pull in the other's power. It raged against him, fought being digested, but his fire overtook it, forcing it into submission and turning the lethal tip outward. Finally, he could eat no more. All eyes were on Natsu as his eyes steadily opened to stare at his opponent, his mate. Blue! Bright blue! It stunned everyone including Lucy.

"I-impossible… How did you…"

"You're magic may be powerful, but it still comes from Lucy. Anything that comes from her I will always accept." He grinned as his hair slowly tinted white around the edges. It was quite possibly the most radical change anyone had ever seen in Natsu during a battle. He flexed his magical power and let it expand and contract, merging into a hybrid with his flames. This power was quite something indeed as he felt his energy being restored.

"Don't look down on me!" screamed Lucy as she attempted to break free from Gray and Happy.

"Gajeel, let's go," signaled Natsu. All he got was a grunt in affirmation.

Lucy froze at the sound of metal slamming into rock. Slowly, she looked over her shoulder to find that Erza had rammed her sword fully into the boulder with the sad face appropriately carved into it.

"What are you doing?!" she screamed in a panic. "Stop that!" Her eyes dilated as she prepared to send forth a body shattering blow at Erza, but was stopped by the battle cry of Natsu and Gajeel. They were powering up and what she saw froze her in utter fear. Dragons, two enormous dragons stood before her, each gathering its force into its jaws. She would have backed away if it hadn't been for the cursed ice mage and exceed.

Slowly, Gajeel's hands slapped together above his head and let the magic gather, spiraling higher and longer until finally the sword became fully visible. Natsu also stood firing up with everything he had left. As if something straight out of a bad dream, the two dragons came charging at her and she knew she was dead. Her arms came up in a weak attempt to block the oncoming attack. It took several seconds for her to realize that the two dragon slayers had passed her completely and were headed for the platform.

"NOOOOOOOO!" In unison the dragon slayers and the Titania struck at the three boulders.

"Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!"

"Karma Demon: Iron God Sword!"

"Yaaaaaah!" Erza thrust the rest of the sword home and twisted it through.

"Fairy Tail will never lose as long as we stand together!" Natsu yelled at the top of his lungs.

A blazing hot metal inferno exploded over the boulders sending each of them into a dusty oblivion. An ear-splitting scream rang off of the walls as a beam of light burst from Lucy's mouth, nose and eyes. Gray and Happy had released her in favor of covering their ears. The walls shook precariously. The anguished cry went on, it seemed, forever. Finally, the screaming stopped as it slowly was replaced by manic laughter.

"It's no use!" she cried as her eyes shook from the insanity of it all. "We'll just keep coming back again and again, you cannot stop us! Not without the seal! Ahahahaha!"

"_Cumino ve to reshlo vento k'tresh. Nova sest noto gra et vu._" Lucy ceased her laughter, the sweat pouring off of her now. All eyes turned to the voice coming from the entrance. Levy was barely standing as she leaned against the entrance, her hands clutched together in a strange position, shaking from exertion. Her eyes were closed as she attempted to remember the rest of the incantation.

"You…" Lucy's voice was dripping with hate and outrage as she shifted her feet unsteadily towards the previous vessel. She took one step, then another before faltering. All of her magic was nearly drained with the destruction of the boulders. Her advancement was suddenly stopped by a hand grasping her upper arm. It wasn't until her face was buried into Natsu's shoulder that she realized she was being held tenderly in his embrace.

"It's enough, Lucy. It's time to come home now." Tears forced their way out of the corners of her eyes.

"Natsu…" Her hands quaked as they reached up and grabbed hold of the back of his shirt, squeezing tightly. "I'll take you to hell with me," she hissed. Natsu's eyes popped open in alarm as he felt the remaining rush of magic burst out of her in a flash. Gritting his teeth together he held onto her, refusing to let go.

"Lucy… I love you… do you hear me?" the magic was tearing at his defenses, ripping his clothes, slashing at exposed skin, cutting even the dragon scales. "I love you, LUCY!" His scream sought to reach her, he could feel she had fallen so far from him. In the distance he could still hear Levy chanting. And suddenly, everything stopped. The energy was gone and the magic dissipated. Lucy and Natsu collapsed to the ground with their arms still held tightly around one another.

The ominous atmosphere that had settled on them was gone, but the weak foundations of the surrounding cavern began to shake uncontrollably.

"It's caving in!" yelled Gray as Erza came trudging towards him. Together they leaned on one another as they hurriedly made their way towards the entrance to the cave. Gajeel grabbed hold of Natsu intent on pulling the two apart to carry them out, but he wouldn't relinquish his hold on Lucy. Growling, he prevailed and threw each over one shoulder and used the last of his reserves to beeline it to the entrance followed closely by Erza and Gray. Happy flew ahead and snatched up Levy who had all but collapsed after finishing the incantation.

Each of them ran through the opening, avoiding the crush of a falling ceiling within seconds. They knew they weren't safe yet as more of the mountain fell in on itself. They ran hard and fast as their lives depended on it, dodging around crevices and loose rocks as the earth caved in behind them. It was as if a monster was following them, wishing to swallow them whole. None of them knew where the energy came from to get out, but eventually, they successfully made it away only to collapse into exhaustion where they stood. They had survived. Barely, but they did it yet again. Nothing less could be expected from members of Fairy Tail.

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A/N: I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with the battle scene. Still some loose ends to wrap up here so stick around for additional chapters. Thanks everyone! Please R&R!


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N**: Ok! Sorry about the wait. It's a relatively short chapter. Between job searches, failed job searches, sick kid, sick self, sliced finger, and overall lack of time, things have gotten delayed. Writing is definitely my form of stress relief!

After a few reviews and private messages, I've been told that my battle was lacking in the last chapter or two and I am completely agreeing with that verdict. I'm not very pleased with it myself. Perhaps I will rewrite it a little later. But for now, the story presses on.

**Note to Kritzl**: I am flattered you wish to create a doujinshi! By all means, have at it! Anyone else is welcome as well, but just please let me know first and be sure to send me a copy! I'd love to see what people are creating based on something I've made. It's very exciting!

Okay, enough blabber, on to the next chapter!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Fairy Tail, just the obvious.

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It was like a song without rhythm, floating in and out of her ears, crescendoing and then diminishing before she even had time to grasp that those sounds were none other than foreign voices mumbling and clicking around her. They twirled, and sank, and then flew up and spun around, disorienting her further. She couldn't make out any familiar words coming from the darkness. Weights were holding down her eyelids, or so Lucy felt, but against the odds she somehow managed to crack them open slowly. She regretted it instantly as light seized the moment to flood her vision. No, definitely too early for that. She rallied herself and forced the lids open at least half way, demanding no more from her eyes than to simply gaze straight forward. All she saw was darkness outside of the single beam of light surrounding her body from somewhere above; it was a darkness that would not be pierced by light. She felt more than she saw the moving forms just beyond her vision. In that moment it registered that she was not lying crumpled on the ground as she had half expected; her arms remained suspended above her head, held by an unseen force. Judging by the coldness and unforgiving nature of the material, she assumed they were iron shackles. Her toes barely scraped against the ground below and in that moment her shoulders began to wail at her. Stop screaming, we have worse things to worry about, like where the hell was she? The last thing she remembered was spending every last bit of her life source to fight the entity that took over her body. She heard Natsu's voice call to her to return to him and then… nothing.

Lucy's confusion and anxiety of not knowing what had become of her beloved nakama weighed heavily on her. But it wasn't just that, she needed to know more than her nakamas' safety, she needed to know if…

A screech broke from the twittering of sounds that surrounded her as a scuffle seemed to erupt from beyond her eyesight. The sudden fear of the darkness made her stomach feel as though it were being gutted with a dull blade. Her entire body began to shake uncontrollably as her pupils dilated, she instinctively began to twist and turn like a fish on a hook. The sound of her own heavy breathing filled her ears, attempting to drown out the sounds of the howls and screams. Her movements did not go unnoticed. A foot melted away from the shadows and edged into the light. The suspense that had earlier drawn her body so taut was now screaming, wishing the foot back into the darkness. Whatever fear she had before was nothing to the anticipation that built as another foot joined the first. She vaguely was relieved that the howls had stopped, but the void it left was even more terrifying then the relentless inhuman sounds from moments ago. The figure was cloaked, hardly taller than her shoulder.

"G-g-get away from me! Don't come any closer!" she screamed feebly. Her body writhed away from the arm that suddenly rose up to point at her. She strangled off a scream that tried to force its way out. The arm was human, but the flesh was… dead. It was rotten and eaten through completely and emitting such a rancid smell that it took all of her strength not to lose her stomach there on the spot. She couldn't bring herself to look at its face. Even if she had she would have found nothing but darkness hidden within the depths of the cloak. Lucy stared on in terror as her focus honed in on that finger, one that had disintegrated down to the bone. Neither speeding up nor slowing down, it steadily moved every closer, the tip searching for the point right between her eyes. Her head fell back attempting futilely to get away. How could such a small being have such long arms? It was the least of her worries at that moment as it finally made contact with her forehead. The bone was made as if of a knife as it plunged into her skull, the skin still intact. It was not meant to cut flesh, but that of the soul.

"AAAAAAAAAH!" Pain like she had never felt before lanced through her body, sending it into spasms. Deep within her soul, she felt them prodding her, picking at her, dissecting what they found. Nowhere, in mind or body, was there a place for her to retreat from this horrible invasion. Deep down, they were taking apart what made her Lucy, attempting to find something while siphoning away bit by bit her life force. They were seeking something out, they were seeking, seeking, seeking… Then she realized what it was they were seeking and her anger reared its head like she had never felt before. Power filled her from a fountain she had never known she had possessed. It was endless as it burst forth, pushing back the darkness. The being who cut her like none other disintegrated instantly as did the hundreds of others that were standing just short of their victim. Others shielded their hideous faces from her, attempting to hide from the offending light.

The faces were more horrendous than any nightmare could have conveyed. The skin peeled and cracked in a sickly gray, with hollowed out eyes filled with an emptiness that went far beyond death. The parasites of the spirit world wriggled and crawled in and out of the flesh, slowly consuming what was left. It was her endless rage that dulled the terror for her life.

"You will NOT lay a hand on him!" she screamed with so much force that hundreds more were instantly obliterated, following the fate of their comrades. Flames made of an ethereal light erupted around her, licking higher and higher until none could even approach within a stone's throw. The atmosphere commanded complete awe from the undead, and fear, an emotion none had felt since the moment their lives expired in the human realm.

Slowly, the invisible fire grew and then plateaued, having peaked as high as it would reach, cradling her safely within its folds. A laugh slowly rose up, a deep and bellowing laugh that sent chills down her spine. Lucy clenched her teeth as her body was bathed in a nervous and fury-driven sweat. The laughter grew more heinous with every passing moment, growing in volume and mirth. Finally, only after Lucy was able to see that a path was being split between the endless crowd of undead, the laughter faded away as the owner stepped forth, leaving behind the darkness.

He was by far in better shape than his companions as his flesh was whole, but it was still the sickly gray that matched the others. His left arm was completely covered by his cloak, blood red and decorated magnificently with the bones of the dead. His hair was a white that Lucy had never seen before. It was a color not possessed outside of the spirit world; that she knew. His handsome face was negated by the cobalt blue eyes that stared at her like a dead fish. If she lived through this, those eyes would haunt her dreams for years to come. He smiled charmingly at her prone figure, appreciating what he saw.

"Lucy Heartphilia, it is a pleasure," he said with a graceful bow. Lucy didn't grace it with an acknowledgement. No person in their right mind would return in like given the situation. He arched his eyebrow in mock insult. "I am Vetro Nova, the creator of the Nova link." Lucy's eyes widened in shock. If this man was the creator, then that meant he had to be at least… He chuckled as if he had read her thoughts.

"Yes, I am looking rather good for my age," he looked at his right hand's fingernails, surprisingly well manicured. " I've been waiting many centuries for a vessel like you, my dear. I thought we had found her in your companion…"

"Levy," Lucy whispered in comprehension. He nodded approvingly.

"Yes, Miss McGarden. She was quite a contender, but then you flew into our maws and I can now see that she only was to lead the way to you. It's a shame that we are able only to utilize the link with one Trinity Maiden at a time, but I believe that you will suit us just fine for our purposes." Lucy remained stubbornly quiet, giving him nothing. Vetro saw he was not going to get anything from her to continue and so he approached her slowly, despite the flames licking at him. His clothes began to smoke slightly. Lucy tensed. He was wading through the flames as though it was simply made of water.

"It took quite a bit of energy to get that script spell through the Veil of the Dead. It's taken this long to get my plans in motion, but I can see that planting it in that guild was a wonderful choice. It is just rife with life source, more than I could hope to find in any average town." That forced a reaction from Lucy.

"If you lay a finger on Fairy Tail, I will tear you apart!" Her threat echoed something of her lover. He seemed to be rubbing off on her more than she thought. This bottomless well of rage was new to her, but she knew it was there for her to use and use it she would. The holy flames flew out wider, banishing even more into the abyss.

"Oh, hush, my dear. My ultimate goal is not your precious guild, though I could see it being a fine place to have my celebration feast once my dream is realized." He waited and Lucy kept her lips tightly sealed shut. "Come now, Lucy, I'm trying to make polite conversation here, but you're not giving much to go on. It's really quite rude."

"You planted the spell in our guild, but why?" she growled, feeling violated that someone would do such a horrendously invasive thing to her home and companions.

"Well, to find release of course! What you encountered was merely the fist stepping stone on the road of a far greater dream; the beginning of all, the Great Nothingness. But I most certainly cannot do anything from behind the Veil. I was reduced to calling on flimsy contracts I had made centuries ago, with the Crynthians. I sold them my Nova Link to give them longevity, but only in exchange for their life force. Unfortunately, it was a flop because the heathens became greedy and their neighboring countries put a stop to them. That, however, does not change the fact that I need life force to bring myself to the other side and they were originally supposed to get me that, but that indubitably failed. So this is where you come in, my dear." She hated that endearment, now more than ever. He was growing closer, blinking in and out from one spot to another, each one shortening the distance. Fear was attempting to take over again. She resisted with all her might, pulling on her anger.

"If you try touching us, there will be nothing left of you," she said with more than a hint of warning as he drew closer. He ignored her as his hand reached out towards her forehead. "I said, DON'T TOUCH US!" She screamed as the dam to the untold energy spilled forth, jumping whatever barriers that were left. Vetro's eyes widened momentarily before the light overwhelmed him. And for a brief moment, he smiled.

"How interesting."

Everything was lit up brightly, death fleeing as far away and as quickly as possible. Then, true darkness fell over her, one of complete sleep.

* * *

Lucy's eyes fluttered gently, the realm of the living coming slowly into focus. Above her, she could see a woman hovering. Porlyusica. Lucy breathed a sigh of relief before jolting upright, not getting very far before the pain prevented her from moving. The older woman laid a firm hand on her shoulder, indicating she was not to make such silly attempts at this time.

The young woman realized very quickly that they were back in Fairy Tail, the medical room. Her eyes sought out the others in the neighboring beds, but only found Jet and Droy to be there, both still unconscious. Porlyusica saw her dilemma.

"Everyone is fine," she said shortly, her people skills still not much improved. With stunning swiftness, Lucy reached up and grasped the older woman's sleeve imploringly. The other was obviously taken aback by the urgency with which she was grabbed.

"Everyone?" Lucy croaked out. Porlyusica hesitated for a moment, registering the young woman's meaning and nodded.

"Yes, everyone." Lucy's fingers lost their strength immediately and fell back to her side, finally able to breath. "Natsu…" she whispered. She looked around for him, feeling slightly disappointed he was not there when she woke up, but her disappointment was interrupted by the sound of yelling and crashing, atypical from the sounds made during a time of cheer and normalcy. Her brow knit together and immediately took note that Levy was not there. Of all of them, she by far should have been in the worst condition. The voices began to drift in through the tightly shut door.

"Get the hell offa' me!" Was that Gajeel? He sounded furious.

"Gajeel! You need to rest, or you'll hurt yourself," she heard Wendy plead. Another crash followed by a commanding voice that drifted in and out. All she caught was Levy's name and Council. Her heart froze, knowing that the Council being here was not a good sign, it hardly ever was. The guild shook as a loud roar seemed to rip through the rafters. Everything seemed to freeze in its wake.

"She's our nakama! You're not taking her!" That's where Natsu was…

"You can't! She's still not healed!" joined in Erza. Everything went quiet as she heard the low reassuring rumbles of Master Makarov's voice. There was a pause, and a brief reply from the Councilman. More silence which was rudely interrupted by another roar. It went on and on and on… never it seemed to stop. Finally it died down and no one moved, no one breathed. Lucy stayed perfectly still, slightly thankful that she was not in that room as well. Suddenly, the door flew open and Natsu came speeding through, his eyes alight with joy seeing her eyes staring back at him.

She was so beautiful, why? Because she was awake and looking back at him and now she was smiling! It had been three days since they had been returned to the guild and the entire time, neither she nor Levy so much as sneezed. It had them all walking trenches into the floor, so much to the point that Porlyusica had kicked them all out. Only moments ago had she peeked her head out and nodded only at him, for the rest of the guild was in absolute shock and chaos.

Those minutes leading to this one had been forgotten right away, but Makarov's warning still remained fresh in his mind. Gajeel had finally been detained but not without much effort on the part of everyone there. As the master slowly moved his way out of the guild, the years suddenly showing more than ever on his shoulders, he stopped briefly to whisper to the fire dragon slayer.

"Don't do anything stupid, like what happened when they took Erza." Natsu glanced at him vehemently, detesting being told what not to do. "You'll bring unwanted attention to others. One guild member, I can try to help, but not two, not in this situation." Natsu understood the warning immediately. Lucy… If the Council found out that for even a short period of time that Lucy had been taken as a vessel, she would be rounded up as well. "Lay low, my boy," Makarov said tiredly.

"Old man," Natsu said without glancing over his shoulder at the passing elder. The master of Fairy Tail stopped briefly. "You'll get her back, won't you?" There was a long pause.

"She is my child, there is no question that I will bring her back." It was all the answer that Natsu needed before catching Porlyusica staring at him from behind the door.

"Natsu?" Lucy's voice drifted into his ears, pulling him from his troubled thoughts. The pink-haired man shook his head rapidly, trying to clear it from his mind, focusing completely on the blonde, attempting to sit up despite Porlyusica's protests. He ran forward and grasped her hand with one of his own while placing firm support against her back with his other, helping her in her mission.

"Did they take Levy?" she said, wincing as her body had not moved in days. She was stiff in places she had never thought possible before. Natsu's head was bowed low, shadowing the pain in his eyes of not being able to do anything for his nakama. If Lucy hadn't been involved, he would have stormed off after them. The bastards had taken Levy even though she hadn't even woken up yet. Lucy felt the tension run from his arm to his fingers and around her own. Slowly she touched her other hand to his cheek, forcing him to look up at her.

"Natsu, don't worry, we'll get her back. Haven't we always taken care of our own?" she said encouragingly, gently. It was the combination of her voice and the smile she gave him that gave him hope. That was his Lucy. This was the breath of air he needed in order to live. He found that smile that had failed to grace his face since he woke and found her to still be gone from his reach.

Porlyusica cleared her throat and glanced meaningfully at Natsu and back at Lucy before exiting the room, giving them some privacy.

"What was that all about?" he said, barely paying attention to it as his hand wandered over Lucy's cheek down her neck and arm, petting and caressing every bit of the way. He was beyond words to be able to show and tell his emotions at that moment. His administrations were stopped as Lucy's hand grasped his free one, quite firmly, enough to raise a small alarm. She didn't look at him for a long moment. Seconds ticked by, minutes, and to Natsu, it might have been an hour.

"Oi, oi, Lucy, did you turn to stone?" he said as he made a goofy face at her, assuming it was depression over Levy that had her so quiet. His tongue lolled out as he rolled his eyes towards the middle of his nose. He was about to get up and do an awkward dance to try to lighten the atmosphere that had suddenly settled over them, but Lucy yanked on his hand hard, keeping him from getting up. His face became deadly serious once again as she continued to stare down at the sheets covering her legs.

"Lucy?"

"I'm pregnant." The words echoed over and over again through his mind before finally he was able to comprehend the meaning. And when he did he started to grin from ear to ear in elation only to stop. Something else was wrong. Lucy still clung to him tightly. She started to shake uncontrollably and this is what started to scare him.

"I think something is after him," she said shakily, the tears coming through in her voice. "Something is after our son." Looking up at him finally, the pain and fear he saw there would forever be etched into his heart. He had never seen it so raw before on her face, in her eyes, in the tremble of her chin. "Vetro wants to eat our son."

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A/N: How was it? Was it worth a bit of a wait? Please R&R!


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** All right, I realize there was some confusion on what just happened. I was planning on this chapter explaining a few things. It hopefully will make the reader look back at previous chapters with new eyes because the author knew Lucy was pregnant before she actually got pregnant ^_^ heh heh...

If you are still confused, let me know!

**Disclaimer:** Not mine except for Vetro, Nova Link, and all that other obvious stuff.

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Lucy bolted upright in bed, gulping in huge quantities of air. Sweat had her nightgown sticking uncomfortably to her body. It was that nightmare again. The one that persisted despite all efforts to forget, the memory of the moment her body was taken as the Trinity Maiden's next vessel. In her dream, Trinity Maiden Levy had smiled so coldly at her in triumph. Her eyes had shown she knew something about Lucy that she herself did not. Ever so gleefully, Levy whispered into her ear.

"You will be the perfect vessel. My master will eat your life force… and that of your unborn son." This was the moment that Lucy would never forget. The very second she realized she had made a grave error, a fatal one. She had unknowingly placed her unborn child's life in terrible danger. She had walked right into the trap like a complete fool. It was no wonder they had found interest in her. Surely the combined life force of a dragon slayer and stellar mage would be worth holding on to, and then devouring. It was as if the floor had dropped from beneath her and she was forever frozen in the moment that her heart stopped.

In that moment, she also knew that the Maiden was not lying. It made sense now. Perhaps at first, she had physically rejected Loki's presence as a result of the changes her body was undergoing to make way for Natsu, but the second time, in the woods by the stream, it was not the case. Her body was simply displaying the early signs of pregnancy. Her fainting spell must have also been a side effect. When could they have… it was a brief question that was answered before she was done asking it.

The day she kicked Natsu out of her apartment. It had to have been that day, over three weeks ago. She had hardly noticed the sudden change in her cycle. Lucy was too far gone in her grief over the decision to leave Fairy Tail at the time. Porlyusica, bless her, had known right away in her many years of experience, but thankfully left it to the privacy of the parents to discuss. All she cared about was that the unborn child was still alive. Only time would tell if it had remained unaffected by the recent traumatic events its mother had undergone.

Natsu sat up sleepily, automatically rubbing his eyes.

"Lucy? Are you all right? Did you have that dream again?" Lucy choked a little on her sobs before nodding delicately. She felt his warmth wrapping around her shoulders as he rocked her, pulling her down to hold her tightly against his chest. She remained stubbornly quiet, not giving into the initial need to cry out her angst. She wouldn't let them do this to her. She would make sure she was happy. It was only healthy for her son. Her son… Such a foreign thought and so surreal. That motherly connection she expected to feel didn't necessarily blossom right away. Sure, the protectiveness was there, but the emotional connection was still very underdeveloped. Natsu, on the other hand, was ecstatic. Already he made lame attempts to talk to his son, cracking inappropriate jokes only to get a fist knocking into his skull complimentary of Lucy. He made plans for them to go camping already, just like he had done with Igneel as a boy. Then he announced that he was going to start passing out the cigars; that is before Lucy stopped him with a solid kick to the rear.

"It's too early. Let's wait just a while longer. I want to keep it to ourselves," she said, looking at him pleadingly. Natsu pouted for days, but eventually adjusted to the idea and even began to quietly revel in the secret looks and intimate smiles. Though it had been several days very little had changed for the soon-to-be parents. Natsu had already been staying the night even before they had gotten together and Lucy was always providing food for his bottomless stomach. He and Happy spent more time now at her place however, actually they practically moved in with her, seeing as Natsu's place was not fit for a pregnant woman, or at least not yet. Lucy had secret plans to invade the fire dragon slayer's home so as to build a little nest for their growing family. He didn't know it yet. Looking towards the future with a little boy that looked just like his father, it warmed her all over like nothing else.

But there was still a crouching sadness, hiding in the bushes, waiting to leap on them the moment their guard was down. Levy… No one had heard news of since the day they took her. Gajeel had disappeared the moment he woke from his magic-induced slumber. Makarov had left explicit instructions not to go after him. Things would play out in due time, he had said, whatever that meant… And who knew when they would see Levy again, if they would see her again. It also was a question whether or not Lucy's experience in the undead world was real or a figment of her imagination. She could only hope that she had heard the last of this Nova Link.

Lucy's thoughts were everywhere, jumping from one thing to another and they were only interrupted when she felt something poking her lower back as Natsu lay spooning her, waiting for her to calm down.

"Natsu… that had better be your hand. And if that is your hand, you had better move it," she grumbled, not in the mood at all for playtime under the sheets. In response, he merely nuzzled her right below her earlobe, placing gentle kisses up and down her neck. She purred happily… well maybe she might be in the mood, if he played his cards right. Very gently he stroked his fingers up her outer leg and up her side. She shivered, the feeling being so very delicious. The persistence of his hands was intoxicating as they pulled the hem of her nightgown up, trailing it higher so he had easier access to her chest.

"Lucy…" he whispered hotly in her ear.

"Yes, Natsu?" she groaned as he cupped one breast in his hand, losing herself in the heat of his touch.

"Are these really going to get bigger?" Lucy's eyes popped open.

All across Magnolia that night, people could see a flying man reach the stars as he was ejected out of his girlfriend's window.

* * *

Natsu had woken up in the bushes somewhere in the northern part of town and it had taken him nearly an hour to get himself cleaned up and presentable. Knowing Lucy, he gave an educated guess that she was already at the guild by now, attempting to eat a breakfast that would not stay down. Despite her obvious discomfort, he couldn't help but be proud that he was the cause of it… wait… that wasn't right…

The rowdiness of the guild seeped through the doors as he approached. Usually when he entered, the rowdiness would escalate or simply continue. No one's fun stopped or gave pause, but this morning, it was very different. Everyone stopped to stare at him, a pin dropping would have been appropriate. Natsu's eyes scanned everyone else's as he sought out Lucy. There! By the bar, she was holding a wooden bucket on her lap, looking incredibly green. Finally, someone yelled out, "Congratulations Natsu!" The hall erupted into utter mayhem as glasses began clinking and huge guffaws echoed off of the rafters. Huge, heavy claps were dropped onto his shoulders as he passed other guild members. Each gave him a grin or a thumbs up. With every step he took he felt his chest puff out further, his nose rose up into the air, a pride he had never felt before began to grow for all to see. The man would be nearly unbearable to handle now, Lucy noted dryly. Thanks to Mirajane's sixth sense and slip of the tongue, everyone knew about the pregnancy. The women were encouragingly giving her toast, crackers and water for her sensitive stomach only to be swept aside by Erza as she dropped an impossibly large roasted leg of meat in front of Lucy.

"You must eat to grow a strong baby!" she said as her face turned bright red, always very awkward in such situations.

Loki suddenly appeared as suave as ever, pushing his shades higher up on his nose.

"At least I know your puking wasn't from that wonderful kiss we shared, my dear Lucy," he said mischievously. Lucy hunched forward over the bucket, hoping a certain dragon slayer had not heard it. Gray grinned and slapped Loke's shoulder rather roughly.

"You didn't!" he said. "How was it? Was she as good as Natsu says?" Juvia stood back in the corner, nearly in tears.

"Gray-sama…" her eyes turned to Lucy, trying to set the other on fire just with her gaze. Lucy pretended horribly to ignore it. Then it registered what Gray had said.

"What?!" Lucy cried. A chill went down her spine as she realized her earlier hope of Natsu missing Loke's comment was only a pipedream. Natsu glared at his arch rival, his fists suddenly bursting into flame.

"You did what?!" he growled at the celestial spirit. Loke tapped a finger against his lips as he leaned against the bar.

"We kissed, a rather passionate one at that." He licked his lips. "Hmm, I think it tasted like strawberries…"

"Strawberries? I would have thought more like peach or something," piped in Wakaba, his pipe hanging precariously out of his mouth.

"Have you seen what that girl eats?" Laxus surprisingly interjected.

"Yeah, I'd think more along the lines of candy or pickled radish," suggested Freed, following suite.

"Wai…" Lucy suddenly lost control of the situation, if she even had any to begin with.

"Loke!" Natsu howled as he tackled the other to the ground, somehow managing to snag Gray along the way. A scuffle ensued, no one was sure if any of them would come out on top.

Reedus painted merrily on his easel.

"Look, Loke! I painted a picture of you two. I thought it'd be interesting in color," Reedus said proudly as he presented the paper for all to see. It was an excellent representation of Loke passionately holding his master as her clothes were disheveled and half removed. Every face in the room turned bright red.

"R-Reedus... I didn't know you had it in you…" stuttered Macao. Everyone was stunned when Natsu suddenly leapt forward and snagged the painting. For a very brief moment, he admired Reedus' handiwork before quickly stuffing it into his mouth. Tears began forming at the corners of the painting mage's eyes.

"M-My painting… Natsu!" He swiftly drew a picture on his broad canvas of a belly and instantly a ferocious she-lion popped out and proceeded to chase Natsu in every direction. All of the other Fairy Tail members attempted to get out of his way, but ended up getting pulled into the chase as well.

"So, Lucy," Lucy's stunned expression turned back to a recently pulverized Loke. He acted as though he did not have two black eyes as he charmingly held her hand aloft, kissing the top of it. "Come away with me instead. I shall be the father of the child!" he said boldly and with a twinkle in his eyes. Natsu froze in his escape long enough to let loose a stream of profanity in the direction of the spirit. The lioness took her opportunity and pounced on him, pinning him underneath. Her opened jaws stopped just short of his head as she began to sniff the air. _Sniff, sniff_. She climbed off of him, attempting to find the source of the smell that had caught her attention. And there she found it, walking innocently along the walls. With a roar, she was pouncing after Pantherlily, who let out a terrified hiss before taking off at full speed, the lovesick lioness not far behind.

"Why is it always me?!" lamented Lily. Chaos continued to reign supreme as more moved out of the beast's way. Natsu rallied and had thrown Loke right into Erza's lap. A deadly aura seemed to emanate from her body as she tossed the spirit into the middle of a table full of cards.

"Hey!" yelled Cana, mid drink. "Watch where you're go…" She was interrupted as Natsu came flying from above to land heavily on top of Loke's back. A gust of air was forced out of his chest.

Lucy felt complete and utter befuddlement, staring at the absolute mess that was her home and was soon to be the home of her child. And she smiled. She wouldn't have it any other way. In the midst of the merry anarchy the doors slowly began to open. First one, then two heads went up to examine the newcomers. And slowly the guild went silent yet again. Natsu froze as he was mid-strangulation of Loke. Gray somehow had found himself buried beneath one of the slayer's feet.

Levy stood leaning against Gajeel's side, smiling weakly at everyone. Her dragon slayer's arm wrapped around her petite shoulders spoke louder than words. _Mine_. She was obviously unsure of her reception, but attempted to act casually.

"I'm… I'm home."

* * *

A/N: Goofy, but meh... that's Fairy Tail. Like I said, any confusion, be sure to let me know! Please R&R!


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: So sorry about the wait. Things are crazy round here.

DISCLAIMER: Mashima's.

* * *

It was a miracle that Levy was not hurt in the stampede of love that flowed over her upon her return. Droy and Jet tenderly tried to embrace her through their casts and bandages that were still wrapped around their bodies, but mysteriously, they ended up hugging a very stoic iron dragon slayer. It was the same every attempt and eventually, the two sat huddled in the corner covered in a cloud of depression with Levy attempting to appease them from behind Gajeel's unforgiving back.

Natsu's world could not have been brighter at that moment. His family was reunited and growing. He looked into the near future with a new kind of excitement that struck him at odd moments. For instance, flying above everyone else with Happy, he randomly burst out into huge grins and laughter. Happy, for his part, was not sure if Natsu was all together there since finding out about Lucy's pregnancy. Upon further inquiry Happy was informed that the dragon slayer had plans to bring his son along with them on these outings. The thought of additional weight to his already strained arms made him weary just by thinking about it. But on the other hand, the thought of having someone smaller and younger than him to boss around and being an older sibling had its merits as well. In contrast, the pleasantness of the situation was not all together felt by the soon-to-be mother of said child. Every day was a battle of will power for her trying to convince her body that this baby was a good thing, not an enemy of the state. Natsu felt slightly guilty about feeling an overall guiltlessness, despite the fact he was the sole cause of her predicament. He was simply satisfied not having female parts and dealing with female things.

The jovial atmosphere was only slightly marred by reports of unusual occurrences popping up all over Fiore's rural communities. They were rare and infrequent at first, but within weeks the reports turned into a small trickle and then a very noticeable pattern began to emerge. Disappearances of children, young adults, and amateur mages were being reported in every part of the country. No one could explain their sudden departures, for that's exactly what it appeared to be. They simply dropped what they were doing and walked out the door, never to be seen again. It was cryptic and the panic was beginning to swell all over the countryside. None of the mages sent on the jobs to retrieve the missing persons were able to come to any conclusion as in to their locations or the reasons they left. On even rarer occasions, some mages simply disappeared as well.

With every passing day, Lucy's condition seemed to get even more unbearable and she was only barely still in her first trimester. She attributed it to her anxiety over these mysterious reports. She sensed something was incredibly off about them and that they were inextricably linked somehow to Vetro and his accursed Nova Link. Her discomfort in not knowing what was happening in the world around her and how it might affect her son's safety grated on her and her anxiety climbed ever higher. Her stomach cramps were growing more frequent in tandem with dizzy spells and on more than one occasion, fainting incidents. Everyone thought it from her pregnancy, but Levy was the first to approach her with mild alarm.

It had been a huge relief for Lucy to see her good friend back and safely within the folds of the guild, but she had changed somehow and Lucy was unable to put her finger on exactly what. Every time the blue-haired mage approached her, it was almost with an air of nervousness and discomfort. It wasn't until Lucy's most recent fainting spell that she woke to find Levy sitting next to her on her bed. Natsu had lovingly placed her there before going out to get food for her kitchen, the one in which he had emptied earlier that day. Lucy blinked a couple of times to find that her hand was being grasped firmly in the petite script-mage's hand. It wasn't until Levy saw Lucy groggily looking at her before swiftly releasing her hand.

"Lucy, a-are you feeling better?" Lucy nodded distractedly in silence, trying to read past the curtain that had fallen over the other's face. Levy smiled, the corners a little wobbly at the corners. What was wrong with her lately? The weight she had lost should have been coming back, but it felt as if she was still suspended in her Maiden form. Fortunately she wasn't getting worse, but it was obvious something was weighing down on the woman.

"I came by to see you because I found some more information about the dragon courtship. I thought perhaps you'd be interested to hear more about it."

"Yes, please. If you think it might help!" Lucy said, ever hopeful there might be some kind of secret remedy to rid her of her morning sickness and other physical ailments. Levy pulled out a book from her satchel she carried at her side. Lucy noticed her hands shook very briefly before she steadied them. Yes, she was most definitely worried now about her friend.

Ever so carefully, she placed it open on Lucy's lap and pointed to a passage. It took Lucy several moments to focus her eyes on the words and even then it was another pause before she realized it was archaic text. She knew very little of the context and was able to glean a few words she recognized. Her eyebrows knit together delicately as she processed them; _blood, strength, death, cycle of the moon._ After a long while, she looked up at Levy who had been sitting back biting her lip. Levy held respect for Lucy's intellect, knowing she was well versed in literature and texts, maybe not as much as herself, but the stellar mage was quite the intellectual.

"What does this all mean?" Levy took a deep breath, preparing to explain.

"_Mingle the blood of the victorious two to beget strength under a distant sun. Death awaits weak constitution. Pass a cycle of the moon without begotten strength, unleash the Hunger._" She paused to let the passage sink in.

"What's the Hunger?" Lucy gasped, not sure when her throat had dried and closed up. A pink little tongue darted out to lick her bottom lip, as Levy attempted to find the words.

"It's what Gajeel went through a couple of weeks ago. He had to leave the guild, he was so afraid he'd hurt someone, including me." Lucy's eyes widened.

"What? Wait- you mean, you and Gajeel…" Levy nodded as a blush spread rapidly across her face. Lucy smiled, feeling warmth wash over her as she took in the most genuine happiness she had seen in a long while on her friend's face. Everyone had sensed it for a very long time now, but it was always so much nicer to hear it straight from the horse's mouth.

"But, I don't understand what this all means…"

"I think I do now. It took me a while, but I think I've figured out most of it. _Mingling of the blood_ was the most obvious part once I realized what _strength_ meant in this context. To dragons, their pod and family units are the most important aspects of their lives. Their family and offspring _are_ their strength. _A distant sun_ refers to the future. So when one looks at it literally, it means one's offspring or family of the future. A_ mingling of the blood_ refers to the act of producing that offspring." Here Levy hesitated before going on. "The mate with _weak constitution _will probably not survive the ordeal of pregnancy…" Silence. Lucy gagged into her hand once. Her body heaved up again, rejecting this information. Taking a firm hold of herself, she squeezed her eyes shut and forced her stomach back under control. Still, it took her long moments to gather herself to respond.

"What…" she cleared her throat. "What does _weak constitution_ mean then in this situation?" Levy looked downcast, apparently she did not know this crucial part. Lucy's mind was in upheaval at this point. "So… what does the rest mean?" Tension seemed to leave the script mage momentarily.

"You don't need to worry about the Hunger. You've already been marked." Surprise made Lucy forget her queasiness, if but for a moment. She sent Levy a questioning look, who smiled in return. "From the time the courtship is initiated, the couple has about a month to consummate their relationship with a marking or else the dragon is driven into a condition known as _The Hunger_. You were scarred within the allotted time." Lucy looked still confused. She bore no additional abnormal markings since she and Natsu slept together. She had no recollection of attaining one in the least. Levy saw her trying to think of any little thing that might have counted as a scarring; an accidental scratch, a hicky, or maybe a hangnail? The bluenette put her out of her misery and explained. "The scarring process that Gajeel mentioned to you earlier is not the kind of scarring we had originally thought. Instead of him maiming you in some way, he leaves his mark in another way. He literally creates a sign that you are already taken as another's mate and what is more apparent than a rounded belly?"

"My pregnancy…" Levy nodded with a smile. Lucy thought it through over and over again. It certainly did make sense from any male point of view. A rounded female ripe with child would deter most insistent rivals, but even so, the more she went over it the angrier she got.

"That is the most chauvinistic, sexist, boorish thing I have ever heard!" she yelled suddenly, fire spewing from her mouth. Levy ducked just in time. The room went still as Lucy's mouth clamped shut with her hands holding it closed. Her eyes were as round as saucers. Levy cautiously lifted her head again above the mattress to stare at her friend. Very carefully, Lucy peeled away her fingers before daring to experiment with opening her mouth little by little. Nothing came out. She and her friend exchanged befuddled expressions.

"Did I just…" Levy nodded, gaining courage to get back into her chair, fully prepared to dodge another stream of fire. "Is it because of the…" Lucy pointed to her belly.

"It looks to be the case," Levy said with some amusement in her voice. Lucy groaned as she flopped back onto her pillow, covering her eyes with her forearm, not appreciating these new developments. Her mind immediately returned to the information that Levy had conveyed to her, most particularly the death bit. She needed to know more about this _weak constitution_ if she was going to keep her sanity. The unfortunately part was that there weren't any dragons around that she could ask about this process. Her frustration grew as she heard the door to her apartment slam open. She flinched as she heard one of her ornaments fall to the ground, shattering as pieces of it skittered across the floor. Natsu let out a muffled curse before making sounds of scraping the pieces together only to shove them under the nearest piece of furniture. Whistling, he appeared in the doorway with a big grin. Yes, his world was ever so perfect and it pissed her off to no end.

"Hey Lucy, they didn't have your favorite pickled radish, so I picked up some beer instead. I didn't realize you can't drink it until I was already half way here," he chuckled as if to a very funny joke. Lucy did not find it funny in the least. "So I figured instead you could make some pickled radish instead. I mean, in your condition, it'd be healthy for you to do something around the house instead of…" He didn't finish his sentence as his head was suddenly engulfed in flames.

"Idiot! _My condition?!_ Who do you think put me in _my condition_ in the first place?!" Lucy's fire continued to race out of her mouth as Levy, already prepared, ducked down once again. The poor man had no idea what had set her off this time, but he had begun to see a pattern in her mood swings and most of the ones that swung not in his favor were whenever he opened his mouth. In the midst her latest outburst, he noted ironically that the flames shooting out of her mouth were quite new. His shock in realizing that she was in fact turning him into a human-kabob kept him rooted in place as Levy smirked behind her hand.

"It seems it's triggered by anger," she commented as Lucy's shoulders huffed up and down. Natsu blinked away the blackened ash on his face.

"Did I miss something?"

* * *

Makarov had called Natsu in privately, but somehow he had managed to gain an entire room filled with not only team-Natsu, but members from across the guild. As circumstances would have it, he was forced to have a guild-wide meeting with all major players in attendance. He originally intended to assign a mission to Natsu and his team members, but somehow by the end of the meeting, the guild had divided into several teams, with the sole intention of investigating the strange occurrences reported throughout Fiore. Arbitrarily, Makarov had made an executive to split the teams in the varying locations. To make it easier, it is shown as follows:

A day's travel to the Northwest is Natsu, Lucy, and Happy.

A short distance to the North is Gray, Juvia and Cana.

Another small trip to the East Macao, Wakaba, Romeo, Charle, and Wendy were deployed.

To the South, Laxus and company were sent to investigate.

Further to the Northeast, Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna.

To the West another small distance was the highly destructive, yet quite effective team of Erza and Gajeel.

All in all, a good portion of the guild was preoccupied with tracking down and piecing together clues to the recent disappearances of the youth and mages. Erza was simply happy that she would not be with Natsu and Lucy, not because of the recent tension that had seemed to escalate only exponentially since the discovery of Lucy's pregnancy, but the for the simple reason that she would be able to avoid immediate contact with Blue Pegagus, or in other words, Ichiya Kotobuki. Yes, Lucy and Natsu were given explicit instructions to head straight for Blue Pegasus' headquarters and seek guidance in the area. It was obvious that since the guild in the most immediate vicinity was Blue Pegasus, that they should start there and seek out as much information and strange reports as possible before advancing on to any other foreign situations.

Upon their immediate arrival, Natsu, Happy, and Lucy were greeted with glitter, spotlights, and slobbery kisses; the latter directed more specifically at Lucy. Twice, Ichiya found his head buried in the sand alongside that of his pupils; Hibiki, Eve, and Ren, as punishment of getting too intimate with Lucy.

"We can't hear anything if you keep knocking them out!" cried Lucy in exasperation as Ichiya made his second nosedive into the sand within the headquarters courtyard. Natsu snorted in derision.

"Getting information doesn't mean they need to get so close to you," he growled, emphasizing this by cracking his knuckles. Lucy rolled her eyes before indicating that her dragon slayer stay back several paces as she attempted to dig out their guild counterparts. It was no easy task and Natsu looked completely content leaning up against a nearby wall, waiting for her to accomplish her mission. Finally, Ichiya stood gleaming before them, speckled in sand and soil, but ever the gentleman.

"I'm so sorry, Ichiya-san," Lucy said, feeling the sweat build on her forehead. It wasn't supposed to be this difficult to cooperate with other guilds… right? "My partner, seems to have forgotten that we are on the same side here." Ichiya blinked, fluttering his long lashes at her.

"It is of no importance, Meeeen!" Gods, she would never get used to his eccentric behavior, no matter how long she was around them. "As long as the beautiful lady in front of us requests our aid, we are but her humble servants."

"Oi, servants, get someone else to help us out!" yelled Natsu. Mere seconds later, Lucy had her trusty whip wrapped around Natsu's torso, pinning him to the pillar he was only moments before leaning against. A handkerchief did the trick in keeping the unfavorable language muffled.

"Hibiki-san, I was wondering if perhaps you could provide us a direction that we could head in regards to the recent missing mages and children," Lucy said, hoping that the Blue Pegasus guild members had enough grace to dismiss Natsu's quick tongue.

Hibiki's legs jerked once as he attempted to jump from the burial Natsu had so carefully provided him only moments before. Finally, his body burst from the soil, gleaming and smiling in the most suave of manners.

"Of course, my lady. I will provide you with whatever information you seek." Within moments, his archive appeared before them as he surfed through the information with ease. "We have at least six locations that have notified us of missing persons reports. Only three of the locations have had professional responses from various guilds. Only one of them has shown lack of response from the team that went to investigate the situation. It is further to the west of us, sandwiched between the mountains and the coast."

With pieces of soil falling from the folds of their clothing, Eve and Ren seemed to appear as well next to their 'comrade, bowing very gracefully.

"Might we recommend that we escort you to the aforementioned location?" suggested Eve.

"It would be of no problem for us, just don't fall behind, not as if I would care," blushed Ren. Natsu burst forth miraculously from his bondage.

"Like hell, we need your help! Just tell us where it is!" His irritation caused flames to spiral out of his mouth in small bursts.

"Natsu…" Happy felt stuck in trying to provide the constant support he was known for, but in this case, it was obvious to the most novice of observers that Natsu's jealousy was driving his actions. The Trimens shot him the most disdainful looks as Lucy stepped between the lightening stares attempting to strike the other down.

"Um, yes, could you please just give us the location of the last village you mentioned. I am sure that Natsu, Happy and I can handle it." The Blue Pegasus members exchanged concerned looks before acquiescing to their request. It was apparent they were not thrilled with this turn of events and gave several warnings not to get too involved in the local culture.

* * *

It wasn't until the small band of Fairy Tail mages arrived at their destination that it became quite apparent why their compatriots were concerned. In the deep valley nested between the mountains and plains running up to the coast, they found the peaceful little village that had reported the missing residents. Even after several guild mages showed up to solve the strange disappearances, those too would soon disappear from sight and sound.

Upon approaching the village, several residents seemed to freeze in whatever they were doing and it wasn't until they had nearly reached the center of the village that Natsu realized what it was that was bothering him. They were all wearing nothing but loincloths! Even the women! It's no wonder that Lucy's head was ducked down to hide the roaring blush covering her face and neck. It was obvious they were from out of town and this ultimately began to draw a crowd of followers. The headman had already been informed of their arrival and was waiting for them in front of the town hall, which was really more like an oversized hut. As the whispers around them grew hushed, he stepped forward. Natsu took in the weathered look on his face and scruffy beard that hung in a tangled mess just above his belly. His eyes were squeezed closed with age, but somewhere underneath those shaggy eyebrows, he knew that the headmaster was examining them very closely. What was the most alarming was that the man wore nothing more than a robe that barely seemed to accomplish the task of covering him from sight. Natsu cleared his throat as he brought out the ad and presented it to the headman.

"We are mages from Fairy Tail, answering your ad about the missing persons. We were told that others have attempted to find them as well, but have not been heard from in several days." The elderly man ignored the outstretched paper, and acted as though he had not heard a thing. Lucy fidgeted with the hem of her shirt as she tried to look anywhere but at their surroundings, no easy task.

It was a long awkward moment before Happy walked up to stand next to Natsu.

"Do you think we have to take our clothes off too?" Lucy's head shot up.

"Absolutely not!" she growled under her breath. Natsu looked at her with a big grin from over his shoulder.

"Hey, we've gotta do what we've gotta do…"

"You're happy about this aren't you?" she mumbled under her breath. Their debate was suddenly interrupted by the headman clearing his throat.

"Welcome to our humble village," he said hoarsely. His accent was thick and hollowed from time. "We were beginning to lose hope that we would never receive more help after what happened." Natsu frowned.

"Why? What happened?" Seeing that there was more to this situation than anyone had originally thought.

"The mages did disappear, but my huntsmen went out to search for them." The people around them shifted and began to look uneasy. The headman continued. "They found them eventually high up in the mountains." The Fairy Tail mages stood rooted to the spot, knowing already they were not going to like what he was about to say.

"Were they…" Natsu started. The other simply nodded gravely.

"What happened to them?" whispered Lucy as she clenched her hands together. Happy edged closer to Natsu and grabbed reflexively a paw-full of his pants.

"No one really knows, but their bodies looked as if they were no more than husks. It took a while for my men to realize that they were once human. Their magic and life force were sapped from them it appears. A word was carved on one of the victim's chest." Lucy felt her breath hitch as she took a forceful step towards Natsu, grabbing his hand in terror. Natsu looked at her with wide eyes in alarm. Lucy was unable to look away from the headman. She knew already, somehow she already knew what that word was.

"We do not yet know the meaning of it, but the word was Vetro."

* * *

A/N: Check out my little fun one shots for _Parenthood_. I just posted a couple of short chapters just for fun. As always, **please R&R!**


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Once again, sorry for the wait. Wanted to post something before the holidays! **Please R&R! **Thanks guys!

DISCLAIMER: Not mine, Mashima's, with the exception of the obvious...

* * *

The traveling mages were quickly swept off to a nearby area, apparently designated for large gatherings of people. Within moments, the air was filled with the smell of meat roasting, sounds of chattering, and children laughing. It appeared that their arrival was something that required a party and the entire village was invited. A wave of smiling faces seated themselves on either side of the mages as they were handfed food of all types. It was soon discovered that Lucy was unable to drink the local specialty brew due to her pregnancy and a new outburst of energy shook the crowd. Here, they honored and loved their children beyond all reason and it was something to be rejoiced. Natsu was grinning proudly as several men were elbowing him and winking not as slyly as they would have thought. The scantily clothed women preened and showered Lucy with good wishes. It took a while, but Lucy was just beginning to feel as though she was getting used to the vision of all the skin surrounding her.

"You are so young!" one elderly woman said appreciatively. There were several nods in affirmation.

"Yes, but that will mean that the baby will be strong!" chimed in another.

"It's such a shame," one girl said with a giggle behind her hand. Lucy raised her eyebrow, her stomach sinking for some reason.

"A shame? Why?" The women blinked curiously that she had not caught onto the joke. Natsu's ears pricked up as he eavesdropped on the gaggle of conversation next to him.

"Because you can't bed one another for two years now," whispered the girl. Lucy's head turned red as steam started to escape from every orifice possible. She momentarily choked on a small bite of food she had been chewing. Natsu suddenly burst into the conversation.

"What do you mean, 'Can't bed one another'?!" he howled. Both of his hands landed possessively on Lucy's shoulders, squeezing down.

"Here, women and men are not allowed to be together when a woman is with child and for two years more, so as it ensures there is not another too soon afterwards. Resources here are scarcer than in the lowlands." Heads nodded gravely. It was only common sense that you not create more than you can provide for.

"Well, that's too bad! Because I plan on bedding her whenever I feel like it!" Natsu announced proudly and to Lucy's chagrin, several men hooted and hollered. A quick uppercut to Natsu's chin silenced him immediately as he landed half way across gathering area. Rubbing her fist, she turned back with a smile to the women, attempting to continue conversation as if nothing had happened. The women stared at her with wide eyes for a few more moments, before letting the incident slide from thought.

"How do you do it?" Lucy said slightly in awe. Their appearance and situation were beginning to make more sense with this additional piece of information. Food here was scarce as were trading goods. How could they be willing to give complete strangers such a wonderful welcome as if they were made of what they lacked? "You all are so upbeat and have many mouths to feed." Lucy's fingers absently touched her belly as if unsure whether or not she could even acknowledge there was a child growing inside. "I know I can provide for this child, but even then, I don't know if I can raise it." Her counterparts glanced knowingly at one another before smiling at her gently. The eldest in the group placed a shriveled, comforting hand on her forearm and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"We have all been plagued by insecurity and doubt at one point or another, my dear. This child will come and it will love you because you will be its world. And for that reason, you will love it back just as dearly." Lucy frowned.

"But how do you know?" finally feeling as if she was able to ask the questions she was too afraid to think of up until now. "How do you know I will love it the way I should?"

"Because the love of a child is absolute and it is a gift. And the stronger you are for your child, the stronger they will become as well. You must not worry about the things that will come in time regardless of course or action. You must worry about what you will do with those feelings once they arrive and how you will bear their burden. Strength and willpower are your own two blades to hone. Only your desire to sharpen them will determine how far they will take you." Lucy smiled and noticed the world was becoming somewhat blurry and realized tears had sprung up of their own volition. For some reason she felt much lighter after hearing those words. The woman was right and she knew this was so as she gazed into the smiling faces of the others surrounding her. Her son would be here soon with all the love his tiny body can muster and she, Lucy Heartphilia, was going to return that gift in kind. Tears spilled over and a wave of sympathetic murmurs went through those surrounding her.

Natsu glanced over at the crowd and was momentarily concerned when he saw that Lucy was crying. Happy stopped him just in time from breaking up the party when he indicated the fire dragon slayer to take a closer look. Upon further inspection, he saw now what Happy had already noticed. They were tears of joy perhaps, but not sadness. He didn't want to be in on that, so he held firmly to his place where he had landed from Lucy's amazingly strong swing.

"Ne… Natsu." Happy was looking at him with concern, but his lifelong companion was too busy staring at Lucy, making sure there was no tiny sign of discomfort or fatigue.

"Yeah, Happy?" Natsu's eyes still remained on his mate.

"It sounds like this one is going to be really dangerous. Do you think Lucy will be all right?" Natsu finally broke his gaze long enough to glance at Happy in agitation. This was a question that he had been asking since before they left the guild.

"I don't know…" Happy had never heard Natsu's voice so riddled with doubt and anxiety before. "But if it gets rough, I want you to be ready. Got it?" The pink-haired man was back to looking at Lucy who was now laughing mirthlessly with the other women.

"Aye sir," Happy said quietly, his ears falling flat against his head. He knew he would not be able to convince Natsu to leave this mission behind and he was just as concerned about Lucy and her condition as any of the guild members, but she had insisted that she go. And everyone knows that Lucy was unstoppable when she had something in her mind's sight. Hopefully her stubbornness would pay off and help her get through the next few days.

* * *

Lucy was tossing and turning under the covers, unable to sleep. The nightmare had come full force and rudely knocked her from her comfortable dreamland. Every time it was a vision of Vetro standing above her, holding out a knife, ready to plunge it into her rounded belly. She woke with a cold sweat every time that knife descended on her. Tonight was no different and unfortunately, she did not have the comfort of Natsu's arms as she had previously. Here, men and women also slept in separate compounds. Trying not to wake anyone, she managed to tiptoe her way around the sleeping forms that littered the ground. She had to dodge a few swinging hammocks as well. Finally, she stood outside of the wooden hut and took a deep breath of night air. It was always so refreshing to stare up at the night sky. Stretching her limbs, Lucy slowly made her way to the surrounding trees, noting there had been a hill not too far off that would allow her some privacy and a clearer view of the stars. After a few moments of fumbling her way up to the top of the hill in the dark, she was rewarded with a burst of beautiful vision, catching the tail end of a shooting star. Very gingerly, she settled down next to a large boulder and leaned her overheated body against the cool surface. She sighed in contentment as she let the sounds of crickets seep into her ears.

The snap of a twig made her heart jump up into her throat as she swung her head around to see who was spying on her. From the shadows, she saw the outline of his hair and scarf before she saw the moonlight gleam in his eyes.

"Natsu," she let out a sigh of relief as he gracefully moved to sit next to her, not making a sound. Ever-so-naturally, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they huddled together and leaned against the giant rock.

"What are you doing out here so late?" he said with a touch of concern, rubbing his hand along her upper arm, noticing it left goosebumps in its wake. He felt her shrug.

"I could ask you the same thing." She turned her head up and smiled at him warmly and he felt his heart melt a little.

"Extra sensitive dragon hearing, remember?" he said somewhat haughtily as he tapped his ear.

"You were standing watch outside, weren't you?" Lucy said dryly as Natsu grinned guiltily. His hand ruffled her hair a little as he stared down at her.

"You caught me." The light air got heavier as his face turned to one of concern. "Are you all right? I was worried you might have another nightmare." Again, she shrugged, looking down at the toes of her shoes, nudging a small rock with the tip of one of them. Natsu's agitation flared again as he pulled her tightly into his arms, getting her to emit a squeak of surprise. He hated it when he felt helpless; these nightmares were almost as troublesome for him as they were for her!

"Natsu?" Pulling back, he stared down at her, contemplating her lovely lips instead of dwelling on things he could not fix. Slowly, he rubbed his nose against hers, gently nudging and breathing her in. He prolonged the moment, making it even thicker as he practiced his self-restraint, something he had been working on since they came back from Crynthia. Over time, he had noticed that it certainly paid off not to dive right in. Finally, after moving tantalizingly close, Lucy had enough of it and wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling him in for a deep kiss. This one was different from so many of the others, she noted. It made her heart ache in a new kind of way and the way it suddenly developed into an urgency that she had never felt from Natsu before gave her a bit of an alarm. She felt his hands clutching at her, not painfully, but with a desperation he had never displayed before, as if she would disappear any moment and suddenly, he wasn't close enough for her. Lucy wanted… no needed… to be closer.

The hums of approval coming from Natsu's chest as she adjusted her position to straddle him only encouraged her as she unwrapped his scarf and gently set it aside without looking. Natsu's vest was next to go and he felt a slight shiver as his back met cold rock. Lucy pressed down into him as her hands wandered over his chest and neck, cupping his head on either side for moments before sliding down his shoulders. Their kiss had gone beyond what it had started out as and morphed into an all-consuming desire. Natsu opened his hands and slid his thumbs up her sides, catching her shirt along the way before pulling it up over her head. In the moment that the shirt came off and her arms were stretched high up to ease its way, he felt his body stop breathing. She was so damned beautiful. Then they were in motion again as she reached for his belt as Natsu cupped her through her underwear, once again, ever thankful Lucy wore skirts.

"Mmph!" she exclaimed against his lips as he inserted one finger and pushed upward, finding that sweet center. Sounding breathless, she pulled away and mewled his name as his hand began to move her in ways he could only muster. She was nearly driven crazy as he added a second finger. While her head hung back, gulping in air, Natsu made use of his other hand by gripping her around the waist and pulling her forward so as to take one of her breasts into his mouth. Gently, he lapped and suckled at her. Lucy felt the tingling sensation run from her chest down to her loins and suddenly she couldn't stand it anymore. Swiftly, she managed to urgently discard his pants before taking him into her mouth. Natsu quickly adjusted his position to be below her so as to pleasure her as well. It was only after a few more moments of this before they both silently agreed that this was not going to satisfy their needs. Lucy promptly straddled Natsu once again, taking him in one slow inch after another. She could hear Natsu gritting his teeth as he gripped her tightly over the hips. Suddenly, he couldn't wait for her any longer and pushed high up into her. Lucy let out a cry of pleasure from the unexpected filling sensation.

A hand wove its way into her hair as he pulled her down demandingly for a solid kiss as he began moving inside of her. She joined him in the fight to touch the stars as their bodies began moving more rapidly. Their kiss was broken in favor for breathing. Lucy watched in wonder as Natsu's face was scrunched up tightly as he enjoyed their lovemaking. Just as quickly as he had entered her, she stopped moving, forcing Natsu to do the same. He looked up at her in curiosity as their eyes connected. Lucy's gaze flitted from his eyes to his lips, to his cheeks, to his ears, taking it all in before cupping a hand gently to his cheek. Slowly, she let her lips drift down to his in a kiss that was completely separate from what they were doing at that moment.

He didn't know why she had suddenly stopped like that and then kissed him in such a fashion, but damned if it didn't make his heart feel like it was crumbling inside of his chest. The movements restarted, but much slower and with more languor. Their foreheads tapped one another as they refused to let their faces move apart more than was necessary. Slowly, gradually, and undeniably, the wave rose up and swamped them as they both fell over that final edge. The stars in the sky were nothing compared to the stars the lovers were seeing at that very moment.

* * *

Happy grinned and stretched, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, as he flew just ahead of Lucy and Natsu. The fresh air was wonderful, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, everything was perfect, except for the two dark clouds behind him. The dragon slayer and stellar mage looked as if they hadn't slept in days. Sheer exhaustion was exuding from every movement. He had no idea why they could be so tired. The beds provided for them were surprisingly comfortable. Perhaps too comfortable… He had one hell of a time getting Natsu out of bed this morning. Glancing over his shoulder briefly, he saw their condition had not changed in the least since they had left the village. He was about to point out that they should stop to take a break, but stopped before he was able to get a word out. It was the sun gleaming off of metal that saved his life as he dodged to avoid a well placed dagger. Natsu shed his fatigue like a coat and was up in arms.

"What the hell was that?!" he growled. Lucy reached reflexively for her trusty whip. Happy pulled back and flew just behind Natsu, as they all scanned the tree line running along the path they were traveling. It was strangely quiet, no animals could be heard, there wasn't even a wind to rustle the leaves.

Just as the silence was becoming unbearable, a horrible cackle erupted from nearby trees. The mages had only a brief moment to dodge the hooded figure as it lunged straight at them, disappearing into the brush on the other side.

"Get down!" yelled Natsu as they ducked yet another attack. The shrieking laughter never seemed to stop. It was like nails on chalkboard as Lucy lay flat on the ground, covering her ears. This was no ordinary being. She looked up through pained eyes as she saw Natsu kneeling in his own pain, trying to block out the resounding laughter. Finally, after it seemed an eternity of dodging and rolling, the figure landed in front of them on the path and Lucy felt her knees go numb. She couldn't move as she recognized the hood. It was not Vetro, but one of his minions. Slowly the head raised up as the laughter died down to a quiet rumble. From underneath, one eye stared at them over a partially decayed face. Part of the lower jaw seemed to be missing as well.

"Who are you?" demanded Natsu uselessly.

"I don't see why I should answer that, as soon you will be dead!" It croaked out. Its hand disappeared inside of its sleeve only to pull out another handful of daggers. Faster than the eye, he disappeared to continue his onslaught as one knife after another appeared and then shot off into the forest. There was no end to it! Natsu jumped up and attempted to shoot fire off at their opponent, but found his attacks to be too slow. Instead he was repaid with a storm of daggers. Only his dragon stealth saved him from being sliced apart, though it was not fast enough to avoid a single stray blade. A horrible stinging sensation ran up his arm as Natsu glanced down to see one had managed to skim him. Instead of bleeding like a normal cut, a small amount of, what appeared to be, steam came from the wound. Natsu quickly clamped his other hand over the cut, not sure what this was. Those knives weren't normal. The walking corpse stopped long enough to grin grotesquely at his victims.

"Mmmm, yes I see that you have quite a bit of energy in you." A dead graying tongue popped out to lick his decaying lips. "I think you will be a wonderful addition to our stockpile." Flying forward with knife clutched in its hand, he let out a howl as he approached Natsu at full speed. The attack was only staved as Lucy gave a well placed crack of her whip on the attackers forearm. The knife flew off into the bushes as its attention was now completely refocused on her. She shook slightly as she stood her ground, holding her whip at the ready.

"Well, isn't this interesting," the corpse hissed. Lightening seemed to move slower than this opponent as another flew directly for her, cutting her shallowly across the shoulder as she attempted to move out of its path. Everyone stopped and stared as instead of steam, a light seeped from her wound, shooting out to blind everyone for a brief moment. Their attacker flew backwards against a tree, lying stunned for a brief moment. By now, Lucy had enough sense to cover the cut with a torn piece of her shirt, wrapping it up tightly as Natsu came to meet her and examine the damage.

"Lucy, what was that?" he said anxiously as sweat beaded on his forehead, threatening to drip off of his chin.

"I…I don't know…" They were interrupted by that damn laughter, and more grating than before as its pitch went even higher.

"We've found her! I never would have thought it would have been this easy, but here she is! Just walked right into our outstretched palms." Natsu shoved Lucy behind him as the corpse stood and cracked its broken neck back into place. Its eye stared hungrily past the dragon slayer and to his mate.

"We've been looking everywhere for you, my dear," he hissed with a sick smile.

"Natsu…" Lucy's voice quivered like he had never heard before. He felt her grasp his vest from behind and hold on for dear life. Natsu's stomach lurched. She was terrified and for some damned reason, so was he, not for himself, but for her and their child.

"Happy." Natsu's eyes remained on their opponent, waiting for any sudden movements.

"Aye," came a small voice from behind him as well.

"You know that thing we talked about before?" Happy's head reared up in protest, but the crease in Natsu's forehead told him not to say a word. "I think it's time we put it into action." Silence, as Happy sought out any excuse possible not to leave Natsu's side. "NOW!" It was a command and one fueled by a dragon's need to protect what was his at all costs. Taking a deep breath and shaking away the tears on the edge of his eyes, Happy reached over towards Lucy's unsuspecting back and grabbed hold.

"Happy, what are you doing?" she cried as she was suddenly yanked up. Out of sheer instinct, she grabbed hold of Natsu's arm as her eyes connected with his. "I love you." Natsu had said it so quietly and his lips had barely moved, but she was sure she had heard it. Then she knew; he was not coming with her and her hand went lax. The look he gave her was heartbreaking as Happy took off at breakneck speed.

"NATSUUUUUUUU!" Her cry echoed off of the mountain face and forest hills as the two began to pick up speed.

"Where do you think you're going?" howled the corpse. He made moves to take off after them, but was instantly stopped as a fireball erupted right in front of him. Without turning his body, the head unnaturally swiveled to look at who dared to interrupt his chase. Natsu stood grounded, legs spread and fists clenched. The wind was back as it picked up and pulled at his scarf. The insecurity and fear for Lucy was gone as he stared down his enemy with a face that would have given nightmares to any grown man.

"Where are you looking when you're opponent is me?" Natsu said dangerously.

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked! I'm working on _Parenthood _and _Tempting a Dragon_ as well, so just bear with me on this.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: So there's no disappointment this is a very very short chapter, but I hope to do this in smaller installments so that I can update faster. Gotta sacrifice a little length I guess. It is also focused on another group off to the east. Don't worry, I'm not checking in on every single one of them. Charle will play a role so that is why we are looking at this particular group.

DISCLAIMER: Mashima's.

* * *

Romeo let out a silent sigh of exasperation. The way his father and Wakaba had been at it for the last hour was starting to wear on his nerves. Most days it was nothing but a white noise that he was able to block out, but today was different. Despite the fact that he was almost never allowed on such a precarious mission, he was suddenly given permission by his father to accompany them to the east. Perhaps it was the short distance of half a day's ride by SE-plug car and a short hike up a small mountain that made the mission seem less daunting, or maybe it was the old geezers playing matchmakers because here he found himself walking alongside the one other guild member who was fitted within his age bracket. Go figure… the old farts would try to pull something like this and he was pretty sure that Mira probably had a hand in all of it as well. He wasn't as blind as they all thought he was just because he was a kid. He let loose another sigh.

Wendy glanced at him occasionally sensing the discord within the boy. She had never really stopped to talk to her young counterpart. It's strange, as they both seemed to spend quite a bit of time with team Natsu. Glancing upwards into the sky she took an absent note of Charle's circling form, scouting the land ahead. Slowly, she came to a decision to break the ice.

"Ne, Romeo, do you…" She was immediately interrupted by the scream of a terrified child coming from not far ahead of the traveling party. Whatever it was she was going to say was instantly forgotten as the four of them took off in a run, searching out the source of the sound. It didn't take them long. They came upon a sight of a little girl sitting helplessly on the ground, attempting to crab-crawl away from something. Her eyes were filled to the rim with tears as her mouth was gaping open, staring at whatever it was that was hiding in the bushes. It took Wendy a moment to see it at first, but two red eyes suddenly became visible within the shadows, as it was accompanied by a deep growl. Whatever it was, it didn't wait for its prey to escape as it came flying from its hiding place.

Everyone stood shocked as they saw it fly forward with claws extended and fangs dripping hungrily. It was a wolf… at least that's what Wendy had thought upon first observation, but she was shocked to find there was something most certainly wrong with it. Half of its body seemed to have disintegrated long ago. There was a section in its rear that one could look clean through. Her utter dismay played into her lack of response. Fortunately Romeo let loose a stream of purple flames, engulfing the attacker.

"Wendy!" he yelled forcefully. She didn't need to be told twice as she ran forward and wrapped a hand protectively around the little one as they watched the dead wolf flop around uselessly against the fire. As if coming to its senses, it stopped moving erratically and slowly got to its feet. Without taking another step forward, it shook its musky fur. The sticky fire dropped off with clumps of fur and rotten flesh. With a strange hiss, the wolf stood there growling at them with even more exposed bones and innards showing. The girl whimpered and hid her face in Wendy's shoulder, clinging tightly to the other's cloak.

"Romeo! Wendy! Get back! This one's dangerous!" yelled Macao. Wakaba stood tensely, at the ready to fend off an attack.

"What the hell is it?" he grumbled under his breath, his teeth clenched tightly around his cigar.

"I think we're about to find out…" Macao grunted back. The wolf stood straighter as it lifted its mangled muzzle to the air and let loose a bloodcurdling howl; one none of them had ever hard before; one never to be forgotten.

Above Charle finally managed to locate where the party had suddenly disappeared. Drifting closer, she knew instantly that there was something very wrong. Wendy! Where is she?! She cursed herself for letting that girl come along on this mission. It was bad news from the beginning and the tingling feeling she always felt just before a bad premonition had started at the tip of her tail upon hearing the details. Ruins? Those were never good to go and investigate. Old magic always seemed to sleep there and old magic was old for a reason.

"Macao!" Charle focused on Wakaba just in time to see him leap in front of his friend letting loose a burly arm of smoke to throw a mean punch into the oncoming wolf. Charle's nose curled as she drew nearer. That was most definitely the smell of something decomposing. Covering her little nose demurely, she landed next to Wendy, whom she had managed to find finally among the brush, cradling a young girl, one who couldn't have been older than five summers. Wendy looked relieved as she saw her self-proclaimed guardian.

"Charle! You need to get this little girl out of here!" she said quickly, not finding they had time to explain.

"Nonsense! I'm not leaving without you!" For the first time anyone could remember, the lot of them saw Wendy snap at her Exceed with such authority, it even gave Charle pause.

"You _will_! Get this girl home. This is not a request!" With a huff to hide the hurt, Charle snatched up the back of the little girl's shirt, preparing to take off.

"This nice kitty is going to take you somewhere safe. Are you afraid of heights?" The little girl sobbed but was still able to shake her head slightly. "Good girl," Wendy said gently as she pet her head a couple of times. "Don't worry, Charle is the best and will make sure that you stay safe from harm." Her voice was calm and compelling despite the frantic battle going on only feet away from them. With a nod and a smile, Wendy gave over the girl to her lifelong companion. Charle sighed in mild exasperation. Though Wendy was far from assertive, she was quite the stubborn one.

"As soon as I see her home, I'm coming back for you!" Charle yelled as she took off. "Don't go getting yourself killed before then!" Then they were gone. Wendy's attention was quickly redirected back to the two older guild members just as Romeo, defying his father's explicit orders, leaped straight into the fray with fiery fists extended.

"Romeo! You little shit! I told you to get out of here," howled his father as several balls of purple fire connected with the impervious beast. It growled in discontent and swung its head around as Romeo landed on his back to start pummeling him in the head from behind. While he was preoccupied, Wakaba slid forward emitting several clouds of pink smoke, taking aim at the beasts head as well.

"It won't be able to move without a head," said Wakaba with some strain as he popped into several versions of himself to attempt to get closer. Romeo struggling to remain on the anima'ls back as he attempted to cause damage to it with powerful blows to its internal organs.

"It's one tough…" Romeo stopped what he was going to say as his steed suddenly jumped up rodeo style and sent him flying into a nearby tree.

"Romeo!" Macao yelled, distracted briefly, but long enough for the animal to find its opening. Leaping forward its sharp claws found a path across the man's chest, ripping a neat little pattern across the front.

"Dad!" Romeo struggled to sit up before falling back against the tree. He rallied for a second try.

"Ugh…" Macao stumbled backwards, clutching at his fresh wound. Glancing down at his hand he was shocked to see no blood leaked from the cut marks yet the pain was very real, if not worse than any normal wound. He fell to one knee. Wendy made to run to his side to heal him, but his hand shot up to stop her.

"Not now! I'm fine. We need to take this guy down… now! Wendy, can you do your thing?" Wendy swallowed hard and nodded. Standing straight and raising her arms she chanted.

"Power of the stout arms that tears heaven… Amuzu Bania!" Blue light enveloped her allies, as energy, speed, and defensive power flowed into them in an alarming rate. Romeo looked down at his arms as he felt them tighten and fill with newfound power.

"This is amazing," he whispered under his breath as he stood back up as if he had never been hit. Grinning, he stood smiling feeling on top of the world now. "Now I'm fired up."

* * *

Charle, with much confusion and sobbing from her charge was finally able to locate the bedraggled village she had disappeared from only the night before. It took much longer to try to disengage from the thankful villagers as they attempted to keep this heavenly being to celebrate the girl's safe return as she was the granddaughter of the village leader. Finally, with a promise to come back again, she quickly made her way back to where she had left Wendy and the others. Unfortunately she did not make it very far before her vision began to blur.

"Oh no… no no no no no, not now… Please not now!" It was as if a stone had been thrown at point blank range at her forehead. She fell faltered as she attempted to get her bearings. Then another blast of pain. Flashes and visions began to stream into her mind's eye. This was bad. Whatever it was, was huge; much bigger than anything she had ever dealt with. The destruction and breadth of despair was so widespread that she wasn't even able to comprehend even a single vision. All she saw was a void that was overwhelming and so endless it left a pit of fear in her soul that in turn transformed into its own black hole. Then she saw their home, Magnolia engulfed in a flame that would never die or be quenched.

"Wha… what is this?" Just as quickly, the visions were gone. With a hiccup, she realized she was sobbing. Clenching her little paws she picked up her speed, desperate now more than ever to reach Wendy. For the first time in many years, she needed comfort from someone.

* * *

A/N: No fears! We're getting to Natsu and Lucy. Just have to set up a little bit of background for the next several chapters. Thanks and please **R&R!**


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: As always, please R&R! It always encourages me to keep writing. I get into those ruts occasionally and reviews remind me to get back to typing. Thanks for all of the support!

DISCLAIMER: Mashima's except for the obvious.

* * *

The rotting corpse slowly turned to give its full attention to his self-proclaimed opponent.

"And who might you be?" he cackled lightheartedly, obviously not taking note of the deadly aura surrounding the pink-haired man. Natsu's fists tightened involuntarily.

"I'm the guy who will send you to the next world," Natsu paused and glanced disgustedly at the other top to bottom. "But by the looks of it you've already been there." He knew he had struck a sensitive chord because the corpse shrieked as he flew forward before pulling himself up short, reigning in his temper.

"You have no idea what it's like through the Veil," he said. The acid dripping from his voice was palpable. Seeing he was getting under the other's skin, or what was left of it, Natsu tried prodding him a bit further.

"I weep for you," Natsu spat sarcastically as he shifted his foot outward, a subtle change in stance, one that the bad-tempered figure seemed to miss in his growing anger. Slowly, very slowly, Natsu gathered his magic around him so tightly that it wrapped him an overly wound spring, one still going unnoticed by the cloaked man.

"You mock now, but soon enough, I will send you through to see for yourself. When you go, remember the name Gorum, for I will be the one who sent you there."

Sweat began to drip down Natsu's temple, his teeth gritting as the magic yearned to be unleashed. Not yet, it was too soon. This creep was powerful and he had no idea what exactly he was dealing with. His knife work was one to not take lightly either.

"Gorum huh? I took you to be more of a 'Joe' or 'Buttercup.'" Natsu mocked him. That damn shriek split the air as Gorum lost his temper, flying with claws extending as he drew nearer. He would make this boy pay due respect to the dead and the suffering had by those trapped behind the Veil. Natsu waited, watching as this otherworldly entity drew within a hair's breathe from his face. NOW!

The magic that he had kept boiling just below the surface burst forth with immeasurable force. It was a physical blow meant to shatter, splinter, and scatter anyone within a stone's throw. It was unfortunate that a good portion of the area was leveled in the process. Rocks scattered, trees were split, and a large crater surrounded the source of this outburst. Natsu stood huffing in place, finally feeling the loss of the magic hit him as he waited for the dust and smoke to settle. He attempted to focus his eyes as the sweat began to come in earnest now. Perhaps he had overdone the amount and not left enough magic in his reserve? No, there was no way that walking meat sack went unscathed by that attack. He squinted his eyes, trying to see if there was anything left of his opponent, but a sudden movement had him spinning around on his heal just in time to catch hold of a rotting wrist as the fingers clamped down on his neck. With amazing strength, Gorum lifted him up into the air, intending to choke the very life out of him. The teeth showed themselves in a macabre grin. As his one functioning eye seemed to roll around in circles wildly. Now Natsu was able to see the extent of death's work and it was not pretty. What an ugly fu… The thought was cut off as the death grip tightened on his throat.

"You were to be added to our stockpile, but I think I will kill you here and now, hmmm?" The head tipped awkwardly to the side as if asking Natsu's opinion on the matter. The latter attempted to give a rather vulgar response, but instead use the opportunity to launch his foot upward in a ridiculously fast move. It connected successfully with Gorum's jaw, knocking it almost completely from its hinges. With a cry, Natsu was dropped, allowing him to flip around midair while simultaneously landing another solid kick to the side of his opponent's head. With an expert landing, Natsu back flipped several paces away to give himself a moment to recover the precious oxygen he was being deprived. He resisted the urge to nurse his tender throat. Gorum for his part was infuriated as he began throwing a hailstorm of knives while attempting to launch his own attacks.

"Damnit, he's too fast…" Natsu mumbled raggedly as he continued to dodge one attack after another. Finally, as one knife quite nearly took his nose, he felt his own irritation begin to rise. "Karyu no Houko!" Through the fire he spotted Gorum flapping his arms wildly around, attempting to put out the fire that had caught him by surprise. From behind, Natsu slammed a fist into the back of Gorum's head before adding a knee to the lower vertebrae. A sickening crack rang out as the decrepit man flew several feet away. Despite the horrendous injuries, he simply stood back up and cracked the bones back into place. Natsu didn't want to give any further time to rally so he launched his entire body across the distance and knocked Gorum's legs out from under him before landing an elbow into the ribcage. Crack! Gorum acted as if it was nothing. Using his forehead, Natsu rammed that up into the already injured jaw again, attempting to hit on a weakened area. However, that technique only seemed to work on the living. The onslaught did, however, manage to anger Gorum even further. This fight should have been a cakewalk! Vetro would have his head if he was defeated here!

With that bone-chilling thought running circles in the back of his mind Gorum broke from the attacks and placed some distance between the two of them. Slowly he raised both of his arms and began a circular pattern. A sickly green and black color began to swirl inward as he prepared to launch a massive offensive on the dragon slayer. He released it in record time as a ball of deadly energy launched itself straight at Natsu.

The dragon slayer stood stoically watching the oncoming storm of energy, clasping something that hung loosely around his neck.

The explosion shook the entire mountainside as birds of all kinds took off for safer grounds. Gorum stood back waiting in all of his anxiety as he saw the outlined form of a demon, still standing amidst the destruction, as if nothing more than a wind had been blown at him. The shadow of a scarf blew victoriously in the wind, as if mocking him, declaring the indestructibility of this man. Gorum's already broken jaw dropped.

"If that's all you've got then you might as well go back with your tail between your legs," came a steely voice from beyond. Natsu's scarf whipped around as he felt his energy gather even higher.

"Tch…" Gorum would have been sweating bullets if his decaying body would have allowed it. Something was different now. What was it? Finally he was able to get a clear view of the man and what he had seen up until this point could not compare to what stood before him at that moment. The man was covered from head to toe in golden scales. Shining, impenetrable, and is if freshly made from the forge. Natsu's build had grown bulkier, the hair was spiked straight back as he stood staring with a penetrating gaze. His eyes were blacker than the black Gorum saw on the other side of the Veil. It sent shivers down his spine. Slowly, Natsu's fingers uncurled from around a glass vile as it fell with a soft thud, rolling away forgotten.

* * *

_/Flashback/_

_Their lovemaking went on for most the night on top of that hill. Natsu couldn't bring himself to let her go. Every time she made a move to get dressed, his hands would move of their own accord. It wasn't until near dawn that they lay sated underneath that boulder, preparing to watch the sunrise together. Slowly, Lucy lifted her head from the shoulder it had been resting on to reach for her skirt. Natsu, once again, went to stop her, but she smiled comfortingly and persisted. Ever so gently, she retrieved a vile from her pocket and cradled it in her closed hand. Natsu's eyebrows knit together in curiosity. He was getting very sleepy and it was going to be one hell of a time getting up later for their journey up the mountain, but it was always worth it with Lucy. Never a regret with her._

_"What's that?" he said, not able to hold the question in any longer. She smiled rather sheepishly as she sat up in the nude, completely comfortable with the show of skin in front of Natsu now. Very shyly, she let the item dangle from a leather thong woven around her fingers. With the other she held vile up for him to examine. Inside floated a golden mist, one he had never seen before._

_"Is that…" Lucy nodded._

_"Fire." His eyes looked at her questioningly. _

_"I've never seen one that color before."_

_"Probably because it's from me." Surprise washed over his expression as he glanced back and forth between her and the little glass jar. If he hadn't experienced the blazing inferno that would spew from her mouth very recently he never would have believed it!_

_"You mean that you…" Lucy nodded again with a shy smile._

_"I had to get Levy to help me but we managed to do it. It took a few tries though. It wasn't easy."_

_"That's great, but what is it for?"_

_"You." Lucy saw Natsu didn't get it. "You gain strength when you eat fire, so I figured that maybe someday you could use this. What other fire is stronger than one born from love?" she smiled. Natsu had been exhausted but he ignored his screaming logic and tackled Lucy to the ground. She let out a happy shriek as he proceeded to show her how happy he was with her gift._

_/End of Flashback/_

* * *

Natsu felt a power that was so completely foreign to him, yet belonged perfectly. Though he had never handled the magic before, it was as if it were made just for him, tailored to fit his needs. Flexing his proverbial magic muscles he let off one burst of energy to give it a test drive. A strong wind blew outward, knocking Gorum to the ground as though hit by a moving wall. Taking a deep breath, Natsu closed his eyes and then let it out slowly before reopening them again. Smiling, his stance widened and this time Gorum did not miss it. Natsu saw the small flash of uncertainty and tinge of fear and all he did was smirk fiendishly at his opponent.

"Let's dance."


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Sorry sorry sorry sorry! It's a short chapter, but I figured something was better than nothing! Please R&R! Any suggestions are welcome as well! You guys have been so great with your reviews and messages. Thanks everyone!

DISCLAIMER: Not mine except the obvious.

* * *

"Happy! Put me down!" cried Lucy, the tears hadn't stopped, but that didn't keep her from raging against her captor/savior. "Happy, if you don't put me down this instant I'm…" Her words were cut short as she looked up at the Exceed's face. Tears were also streaming down his own cheeks.

"Happy…" Her anger drained from her instantly, but the desire to go back to Natsu was still alive and kicking.

"He told me to be ready if something bad came up." Lucy bit her lip as Happy's voice shook at the outer most edges. The tears grew heavier. Her mind was racing, trying to plead with the Exceed, who was obvious unwilling in this forced ejection from battle.

"B-but he never said how far we had to go right?" She felt more than saw Happy's hesitation so she pushed on. "Or whether or not we could land somewhere nearby in case he needed some help. Right?" she said hopefully. Silence. Suddenly their trajectory shifted slightly as she felt her body swing round. Their speed picked up as they flew downwards towards a protruding hilltop from the trees. A small set of caverns had been carved into the face of the hill from constant weathering. It was not a pleasant looking place.

"H-Happy! What are you doing?!" Lucy cried. He was not turning around as she had hoped he would. Instead it looked like he was planning on landing in one of those caverns. She thought to thrash a bit, but failed to see the point. It was either this or fall to her imminent doom below.

Carefully, Happy settled Lucy down at the mouth of one of the caves and then pulled back quickly into midair.

"What's going on?" Lucy said, though she feared she already knew what he was doing.

"You're right, Lucy. Natsu didn't say how far I should take you or whether or not I could come back and help…"

"We! We could go back and help…" Lucy's plea went ignored as Happy's form continued to move further away.

"I'm sorry, Lucy. We will be back for you as soon as I find Natsu."

"Happy! You damn alley cat! Get your ass back here this instant!" Lucy hollered with a shaking fist. The little blue Exceed was no longer listening as he took off in the direction from which they came. Lucy's legs gave out from underneath her as she stared around her hopelessly. She had to hand it to the traitorous bastard. He sure knew how to pick an inescapable location. She didn't know how long she stood, much longer even after Happy had disappeared from sight and finished using every curse she could hurl at him in every language she could muster, ancient script was not excluded from the abuse thrown at him. Only after she was spent and plopped down exhausted leaning against the cave's wall, dropping her head into her folded arms that she thought she heard something shifting off into the darkness.

Oh great, count on Happy to pick the one cave that had some kind of beast hibernating in its depths. Lucy's hand wrapped itself instinctively around her faithful whip. There was that sound again. Lucy slowly rose up onto her knees and then brought one foot under her, then the other. Her eyes never left the darkness ahead of her.

"Who's there?" She mentally hit herself in the head. Who did she think she was talking to? There's no way another human being would be up here…

Her thought was interrupted as one small form began to slowly, cautiously emerge from the shadows, followed by another and yet another. They were children! And from what she could see there were quite a few of them. Then the wheels began clicking and turning, puzzle pieces fell into exactly the right places, well some of them anyway. These must be the children that were vanishing. Their grimy scared frames shivered as they approached her. She instantly released her hold on her weapon and showed her hands palm up to indicate she was no threat to them. The poor things looked half-starved and nearly scared to death. Without a word, they trustingly fell into her arms, nearly burying her in the desperate need for comfort. There had to be at least ten of them, all no older than 10 years. Her heart ached. Looking off into the sky she began to have dark thoughts. Whoever had put them there was going to come back and boy would they be in for a surprise.

* * *

The enraged undead man was fighting for his already lost soul. This opponent was a monster all in his own right. The damned beast wouldn't hold still long enough to get a hit in and even if he did happen to get caught by a blow he didn't even need to shake it off. Gorum might as well have been throwing feathers at him. His most recent hit was taken full in the midsection. It was a hit that would have severed another man in half. The monster just smiled, as if he too was surprised by the lack of resounding pain and dismemberment. Gorum vaguely scolded himself for catching himself looking for some sort of escape route at this point. Vetro would have his head on a necklace if he found out he walked away from this battle without having eradicating this dragon slayer.

"Stay focused," came the whispered warning from his opponent immediately next to his rotting ear. By the gods how did he get so close to him?! Gorum panicked and swung around at the ghost image of Natsu who was no longer there to take the hit. Instead he reappeared on the other side sending a crippling kick to the other's shoulder. Gorum rolled in circles across the ground before he seemed to unfold and land in an awkward manner on all fours. Natsu wasn't sure, but spider came to his mind as he watched his opponent rally. The dust was settling around them for the brief second that they took to assess the other.

"You fight me now, but it will do no good," Gorum said with a forced cackle. "In the end, we will win. We will plunge this world into the Great Nothingness and a new age of chaos will reign. All will hail us and cower before our path. We will rule this world with..." His speech was rudely cut off as Natsu lobbed him square in the face with a rock.

"You're boring. Can we move on?" A howl of hurt pride and embarrassed rage ripped through the air as Gorum flung himself headlong at the pink-headed bastard. Natsu pulled his foot back to prepare for the blow, but he was shocked to find that Gorum was no longer in front of him, nor behind. Above, below, nowhere to be found. In fact, there was nothing surrounding him. It was pure darkness so impregnable and so palpable it actually made his stomach lurch. Where was he? Where was his enemy? His lungs were no longer functioning. It was as if they were falling asleep, refusing to inhale the precious air. He felt his heart responding to the pull of sleep. The pull of a long sleep… death… The word rammed its way into his mind's eye and sent the raging fire blazing through his body. No! He would not go down like this! A roar grew in his throat, building, climbing, rolling to a pitched high before it seemed to burst from him from every direction. Burning away everything in its path. The darkness was being burned away, even death could not touch him. Gorum stood just above him with widened eyes.

The dragon slayer had burned through his most powerful attack like it was paper! Now was officially the time to panic! Gorum threw as many knives as he could muster all at once. Flying back into the air he shot them down all on the fiery inferno of a man below. The storm of knives were so thick that the sun and sky were blocked from view as they honed in on their target. One after another they slammed into the ground and into their victim, never letting up.

"Yes! Yes! Die! Kill him! Slash him! Tear him to shreds!" They continued to fall harder and more erratically. With the intensity of the attack something began to boil below the surface of razor sharp edges culminating into an earth-rocking explosion. Gorum involuntarily shielded his eyes as Natsu burst through, flying at him with outstretched hands, wrapping tightly around his opponent's neck. An unbridled fear flashed across Gorum's face. He flailed frantically, ripping at whatever he could sink his knife into. The corner of Natsu's eye twitched briefly as it made contact with flesh.

"Burn," he said through gritted teeth, pulling the other right up against his own face. With a single word, everything from the neck down erupted in flames. They were so hot that they didn't even leave a speck of ash. In disgust, Natsu dropped the head from his hands and watched it tumble downwards through the air. Even without a body, Gorum still shrieked out curses as he fell to the ground below.

"We will get you! We will get Lucy Heartphilia and your son!" Natsu felt a chill ripple down his spine as the newfound energy he had ingested suddenly dissipated. Without the flame Lucy had given him nothing stood between him and the fatigue, the pain, and the. Every hit, kick, punch, slash, cut, bruise that he had not felt during his battle slammed into him all at once without a bit of reserve. It was only then vaguely that he saw the outline of an Exceed descending on his body as it went limp and began to follow Gorum's trajectory.

"No, Happy," he managed to croak out groggily. "No…" If Happy was here, where was Lucy? The thought plagued him even as he fell into a faint.

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A/N: Again, thanks guys for your patience and don't forget... **Read and Review!**


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Thanks guys you've been great as usual!

DISCLAIMER: Not mine...

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"Virgo, be careful!" Lucy called to her celestial spirit. He spirit dressed in her usual maid outfit and shackles carried three children piled high up on her back as she lowered herself down a vine that had been cut and braided together into a ropey by Cancer.

"Understood, Princess. Will I be needing punishment later?" Lucy felt her head boiling over.

"Now is not the time for that!"

"Yes, Princess. I shall return quickly." Lucy rubbed her temples with two fingers, staving off the headache that she could feel gnawing at the back of her head. There were only two more children left to help down the steep hill slope. She knew that needed to make this quick. She wasn't sure when those villians would be back to collect these children. As far as she knew, there were still more children hidden in the area, but according to those that she found the others had been rounded up in small numbers and taken away, never to be seen again. It angered Lucy knowing in her deepest gut that those children would not be returning to their families. Tears rimmed at the corners of her eyes, but the wide frightened eyes of the little boy staring up at her kept her from breaking down completely. She had to present a strong front for them. They had been through enough. She smiled at him shakily and extended her hand to him, bringing him into a tight embrace. The poor thing was shaking, probably no more than four years old. Her heart was breaking still as the other little girl around the same age huddled in as well. She was relieved to see Virgo reach the crest of the cave and wait patiently for Lucy to peel the children off of her.

Gently, Virgo tucked the children into her arms and prepared to carry them down to the safety of the ground below.

"The others?" Lucy asked.

"Hidden in the brush, Princess. If it is not to your liking I will move them and prepare for my punishment." Lucy smiled good-naturedly, some of the tension wearing away knowing that they were nearly home free.

"No, you've done a spectacular job Virgo, thank you." Lucy prepared to follow the spirit down the vine, leaving behind the cave when a high pitched whistle found its way into her ears, growing louder and higher with every passing moment. She stopped reaching for the vine to cover her ears. Glancing down, she saw that the children were terrified, screaming and struggling as hard as they could. Fortunately, Virgo's inhuman strength kept them from plummeting to their deaths below.

"Get them out of here!" Lucy screamed.

"But Princess…"

"Go! I'll be fine! Get those children to safety, that's an order!" Lucy shot Virgo a steely look just for extra emphasis. Virgo seemed frozen for a moment, as if computing the dilemma of leaving her master behind before nodding and carrying out her orders. Lucy looked up and saw several smaller specks in the distance approaching fast.

Lucy took several steps back into the cave and took a number of big steadying breaths. She narrowed her eyes as she strengthened her resolve, in her hand she held firmly her whip, always at the ready. Her hand shook slightly before she clenched down on it. She breathed in and out quickly as if preparing to dive into a deep chasm of water. Then she was off running at full speed. She ran with the complete intention of ignoring that heart-stopping drop off of the ledge. Go Lucy Go! Don't stop! Go GO GO! Her voice cheered her on as she took a swan dive out of the cave, arms extended. If her calculations were correct, she just had to make it far enough to reach some of the taller fir trees opposite of the hill. If her calculations were correct. No, they were correct. Just a bit further. They were correct. They had to be correct.

Lucy's eyes watered as the wind swept past her face at a dizzying speed. Her hair whipped around her frantically as if trying to grab ahold of something to keep her from continuing to fall. Her teeth clenched into a grimace. So close! Almost there! The tall fir trees seemed to approach quickly, almost too quickly.

NOW! Her arm wrenched back and then flung itself forward, sending the end of her whip out to wrap around a branch. If her timing had been off by even a millisecond she was certain death would be waiting for her in the form of a tree branch to her midsection. She felt a brief bit of relief as she felt the tug and then the hold. She needed to edge up on the whip a few more inches or else she was going to slam right into the lower branch. Twisting expertly, she found a hole in the branches and used her momentum to rotate high up into the air before coming around full circle. The motion slowed her down just enough for her to let go of the whip and grab a lower branch. She swung around and flipped back as if she had been raised in those branches. Finally, the momentum of her fall was slowed enough for her to gingerly place her feet on a branch below her. With much effort she was able to get the whip to unwind from above her.

Feeling a small smile of pride creep its way across her lips she was immediately presented with her next dilemma. How in all of Earthland was she going to get down from here? Obviously there was only one way down and it was going to be slow and tedious. She'd be lucky if she made it down from here without a broken leg, she though dryly. Her assessment of her situation was interrupted by a shrill shriek of outrage from above. Overhead flew several figures, at least four of them as they flew around in agitation. Their prey were gone! They howled to the skies their indignation.

She had better get out of here fast.

One slow inch after another, she eased her way down while keeping a close eye on the flying corpses above her. A branch under her foot gave way in a loud snap. She cursed to look down at an empty void of where her foot was supposed to go. When she looked back up she was confronted immediately with the most horrific sight she had ever seen in her entire life. The man's face was stripped of skin and covered in maggots and this mess of flesh was only mere inches from her own. Her scream was high and could be heard for miles around.

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Charle's vision dimmed and then a flash of pain ran its way through to the back of her skull. With a cry, she crumbled to her knees. Wendy was by her side in an instant. It took much doing, but they had managed somehow to bring down that horrific looking wolf. Now they stood debating on their next course of action. Continue on their mission or head back to Fairy Tail to report what they had seen. Charle had found them just as Romeo had delivered the final flaming blow that engulfed the monster.

"Charle! What is it? What's wrong?"

"They found her…" she whispered weakly. For the first time ever, Wendy saw a flash of blue color flit across Charle's pained expression. "They found the Trinity Maiden…" The little Exceed fainted and allowed the pain to sweep her down into a black hole where sleep would not be found.

"Charle… Charle!"

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Natsu blinked once groggily, but his eyelids felt as though they were made of lead. He heard muttering in the distance as his body slowly began to come back to its senses. He was lying on something very hard, probably rock. There was little light to intrude on him which he was thankful for. There was a searing pain running all along his abdomen and that is what brought him fully awake. It was a reminder of what had transpired recently, or what he had hoped recently. He had no idea how long he had been out for. His inner questions of time and space were interrupted by the anxious mumbling sound of Happy's voice. Through squinted eyes he could barely make out the outline of the Exceed pacing back and forth across the mouth of what looked to be a cave they were resting in.

With much effort, Natsu pushed himself into a sitting position despite the tearing pain that wracked his body with every pull of muscle.

"Happy?" The little blue cat was instantly at his side.

"Natsu! You're awake!"

"How long have I been out?" Natsu gingerly inspected the wound. He answered his own question just by seeing that the wound was relatively fresh, no more than a day old. It was not healing very quickly either. Far from fatal, but it wasn't going to make the recovery process very easy.

"Happy, where's Lucy?" he finally asked the nagging question. He had not seen her suddenly materialize from the shadows of the cave. It was growing dark out. He stopped examining his surroundings when he did not get an answer. "Happy?" He felt his heart sink a foot into his stomach. "Where's Lucy?" he asked again.

The voice that came out of the Exceed arrived in the form of a very small squeak. Only Natsu's impressive hearing allowed him to make any sense of it.

"She was here when I left…" It took only a brief moment for the reality of the situation came crashing down on him.

"No…" he whispered into the air. Ignoring his injury he jumped to his feet and looked around him frantically. It was a relatively small cave, one that had been vacated recently by a number of people, small people it would seem. Natsu sniffed the air and could practically see the images of the children huddled trembling in the back of the cave. The fear was faint but still there. He could smell her as well, also faint, but he'd have traced her years after she was gone, he was sure of it. Finally, he swung around on the miserable Exceed and picked him high up into the air, something he had never done aggressively before.

"You left her here?!" he hollered at the top of his lungs. It was enough to actually frighten Happy. The sheer anger falling off Natsu in droves was enough to send him trembling.

"I'm sorry," was all Happy could whisper pitifully. Natsu's teeth could be heard grinding throughout the cave as he collapsed into a squat, still holding Happy just a few inches from the ground, his eyes hidden in the shadows. Where could she have gone?! The place had to be crawling with at this point with those undead creatures. She'd never make it out on her own, not in her condition. It sent an extra lance through his heart to think of her condition and out there all alone. He put Happy back down and released him a little roughly.

"It's not your fault Happy," Natsu finally managed to speak. "You were just looking out for me. You're a good friend, but we need to find Lucy and quickly…"

His statement was cut off abruptly as a high shriek cut through the air. It turned rather quickly into a horrid laughter, coming from a shadowed being flying just outside of the cave entrance.

"Oooooooh dragon slayerrrrr…" he chanted at him mockingly. "We have a present for you!" Without another word, he threw into the cave a long object before taking off into the night. Happy and Natsu looked at the prone object and Natsu felt his eyes slide shut as he recognized Lucy's whip at his feet. They had her. Those bastards had Lucy.

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A/N: OK! Once again, let me know about that other story and I would really grateful! **Please R&R!**


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